Last week, about half a dozen members of the Green Bay Common Council held a listening session on the west side. For my out of area readers, this council is similar to your local commission or board of trustees. They vote on important issues that effect your daily lives in Green Bay.

And turnout was sad. Really sad. So low that in fact, it’s kind of alarming.

Whenever a group of elected officials schedule a listening event, and no one shows up to listen, not only is it a wasted opportunity to build a relationship with your policy makers, but it opens the door to influence from special interests, and check writing insiders.

Now, we’re heading into the holidays, and while everyone else is starting to shop for turkeys and neckties, the City Of Green Bay is going to discuss some pretty big items before the end of the year. And 2026 is an election year, meaning everything else for quite some time is going to be surrounded by a lot of noise.

And a valuable opportunity we had to let our local elected officials how we wanted our budget managed, our streets fixed, and our public kept safe, was squandered.

The good news is that it remains very easily to get involved in Green Bay affairs, and that many of these alders are very approachable and seen every often at local events.

But when I start hearing the buzzing in the back of the room during one of the policy battles that will play out downtown next year, every alder in that room will have a valid question.

“Where were you when we were trying to talk to everyone about this?”