[WEC-Com] [WEC] Nominations to be spokesperson

[Rob Zako]

Dear Chris and the rest of the WEC Communications Committee,

Thank you for developing the idea for a spokesperson (or two) for the WEC,
and for soliciting nominations. Following are mine:

1) Gary Wildish and Jan Wostmann

Gary and Jan have already been nominated by Jack, and seconded by at least
Mary, Deborah and Kitty. They appear to be willing to fulfill the role, and
to have the time to do so. They MIGHT be a good choice. But they are also
both drawn from the Environment Committee, which just disbanded, leaving
them with little involvement in the WEC: I don¹t believe either is now on
any of the WEC committees, except that Gary is and will continue to be on
the Mapping Subcommittee for another month or so until it finishes its work.
The reason this observation might be significant is that Gary and Jan are
less involved -- less in the loop -- than some others in the WEC. Thus in
order to be informed spokespeople, they might need to become more involved
than they currently are, or else the WEC will need to develop more formal
and effective communication channels to ensure that everyone in the WEC are
more in the loop. (This could include making sure that the web site is kept
up to date with full and committee meeting dates, locations, agendas,
materials, summaries, etc.)

2) Jack Roberts and Kitty Piercy

In some respects, there is no other choice than Jack and Kitty,
notwithstanding that both have nominated others to fill the role. The reason
is that Jack and Kitty are such large leaders in our community, and on the
WEC, that many will go to them to get the ³real² story, even if they aren¹t
the named spokespeople. When the WEC recently asked for $40,000 from Lane
County, who spoke on behalf of the WEC? Jack and Kitty. Went to the
Governor¹s office? Kitty. And so on, we see that Jack and Kitty already are
acting as effective spokespeople. Yes, Kitty is an elected official, but
that suggested criteria is probably not needed. A more serious objection is
that both Jack and Kitty are busy with many other responsibilities, and
hence might not have the time to serve as effective spokespeople. They are
also both drawn from the Resources Committee (now joined with the
Communications Committee?), but are less involved in the day-to-day,
roll-up-your-sleeves work of the WEC, and hence less immediately familiar
with, say, how the technical teams are moving forward towards developing
solutions.

3) Larry Reed and Rob Zako

I make this suggestion because this was the suggestion a few months ago when
Kitty was pushing for two spokespeople. If the purpose of the WEC is to
integrate land use and transportation, then you would be hard pressed to
find two members more versed in land use and transportation and Larry and
Rob. Both are intimately familiar with the WEC¹s subject matter and could
speak from experience. Both are also active in the Coordinating Committee,
the Lane Use/Transportation Committee and the Mapping Subcommittee (and Rob
moonlights with the Resources and Communications), so they have the pulse of
the WEC. And despite coming from opposite ends of the political spectrum,
they have already found common ground and can work well together. But the
fact that they are so involved also means that they are overextended, and
for that reason might not be the best choice for being spokespeople.

4) Chris Pryor and Pat Johnston

If it was Chris who made up the rule that no elected official could be a
spokesperson, then that is a dumb rule. I heard Chris speak on behalf of the
WEC at the Eugene City Council workshop a couple months ago, and he was the
most professional, polished, knowledgeable and effective spokesperson I have
heard. Chris is in the spokesperson business and is good at it. Pat Johnston
might at first blush sound like an odd person to pair with Chris, but she
would balanced Chris in terms of political outlook, temperament and gender.
And for her part, Pat has also served as a very effective spokesperson
lobbying for (among other things) the new West Eugene Wetlands Education
Center, obtaining money form Congress. Both are part of the Coordinating
Committee, hence ³in the loop.² Chris is the co-convenor of the
Communications Committee, and Pat was on the Environment Committee (until it
disbanded) and the Mapping Subcommittee, and recently joined the Land Use
and Transportation Committee. Thus between the two of them they have a lot
direct knowledge about the workings of the WEC. I actually can¹t think of
downsides to selecting Chris and Pat, except that they might not want to do
so because they are to busy.

So who do I recommend? Well, it really depends on just what we are looking
for in a spokesperson, what we expect them to do. And thus my purpose in
nominating four different but all capable pairs of spokespeople is to
encourage the Communications Committee to think more about what exactly they
think we should be looking for. What it is clear what we are looking for, I
am confident that the best choice will emerge. Thus I hope my comments above
will provide good food for thought for your discussions. I look forward to
your recommendations, and your thinking behind your recommendations.

Thanks,
Rob


From: Chris Pryor <chrisp at willamalane.org>
Date: Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:45:28 -0800
To: <wec at westeugenecollaborative.org>
Conversation: Nominations to be spokesperson
Subject: [WEC] Nominations to be spokesperson

Hello Fellow WECs

I apologize for not getting this message out to your sooner. I promised to
give you a brief job description for the spokesperson position and solicit
nominations for the WEC persons you¹d like to recommend for the position.

The WEC spokesperson¹s responsibility would be to know and clearly
understand where the WEC is in its process and timeline; be able to
accurately and clearly articulate the WEC¹s mission, goals, and activities;
have the time and ability to pursue opportunities to share the WEC¹s work;
clearly, fairly, and positively articulate discussion within the WEC,
including efforts to resolve differences; be comfortable and effective at
making public presentations; and be able to write clearly and succinctly. he
Communication Committee can work with the spokesperson to prepare needed
material.
 
The WEC spokesperson is not intended to be viewed as the ³leader² of the
group and would make that point as often as necessary. The WEC spokesperson
would not have a formal role at meetings other than to report on recent
contacts.

The time commitment would not be great, especially if two people are sharing
the task. It would likely involve phone or personal contact with the media
every few weeks to provide updates and stay ³on the radar.² It would also
require getting news releases and stories out to the media when something
important happens (a major decision or report, etc.). Staff could assist
with this task. It would also include making presentations to civic groups,
which can be scheduled as frequently as the spokespeople want. One or two a
month to begin with would be fine. The Communications Committee can assist
in scheduling, preparing presentation materials, and doing PowerPoint shows.
 
Selection criteria (broadly):
             No elected officials
             No agency staff
             Preferably a member from the business or environmental
community 

I¹ve attached a couple of articles from Jenny Ulum which may help too.

Please get your nominations to me ASAP. The Communications Committee will
have a recommendation in time for the next WEC meeting.
-- 
Chris


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