Community Almanac

May 20, 2011

An article entitled “Civic engagement lags even as city grows” by Blake Rasmussen, Community Impact, May 6, 2011, is available online.

In the article, it was noted that the growth in voter turnout in Round Rock for local elections (in the years when they were held) has not kept pace with population growth.

A poll was included with the article. The total current turnout (15 votes) for it is low as well. It is interesting that of the possible multiple choice answers to the poll question about accounting for the low voter and candidate participation in elections, no one has yet selected “People are generally satisfied.” or “Participation is adequate.”

Pflugerville seems to have a similar problem with respect to civic engagement. In the most recent election, the total number of votes for the three candidates for Place 2 on the City Council was just 427 (unofficial).

The level of civic engagement in Pflugerville may have been somewhat higher at the time that the Pflugerville 2030: Your Voice, Your Choice process was begun. The Pflugerville Community Almanac was posted online at that time as a Pflugerville 2030 blog for obtaining citizen feedback. The response was fairly good. Afterward, links to the blog were not left on city websites and the Almanac became less active. The Almanac is still available online here for citizen commentary (as an alternative to the city Facebook website) and could have a positive effect on civic engagement if its continued existence becomes better known.