My First ESSCA Meeting
As much as I bitch and moan about my neighborhood civic association, this past Monday was the first time I actually made it to one of ESSCA’s meetings. And what an eye opening experience it was.
First of all, everybody was very nice, even though I’ve trashed them from time to time. As a whole, they may not know who I am, but I know some of the people there, and they know the score. Kudos for them, and shame on me.
The most important intel I gathered from the whole experience was that it may not be necessary to take over the ESSCA leadership entirely. I certainly think that’s a viable option for 2010, but if the true neighborhood demographic was properly represented, we wouldn’t have as much of an issue. That brings me to my next point…
ESSCA leadership and attendance does not properly represent East Silver Spring and its demographics.
I’ve said this before, but I have to reinforce it now. How many young families are here? What’s the level of the minority population? We’ve addressed these questions before, but not in terms of neighborhood representation in ESSCA. I’d wager, other than children accompanying their parents, I was the youngest one there (and I’m a late-30s-type-of-person). The average age of the attendees had to be 60. Median was probably higher, with an estimated 90% caucasian attendance.
And according to the 2000 census in the Thayer Avenue area, 46% of our street is African-American and 32% is White, with 18% Latino and 7% Asian. Granted, that has to account for apartments (non-property owners) and an area that might be atypical of other ESSCA streets, but the numbers can’t be ignored. And that was NINE years ago.
Today, I’d wager those percentages might not have changed that much (though I could be wrong), but in terms of population age, I’ve seen it for myself. The people here are younger, more hip, more technically savvy, many with kids, and more importantly, they don’t seem to have time to govern themselves. This appears to be a perpetual Silver Spring problem. We decided that we’d let people from around the county help govern us, and that’s had its ups and downs. But that’s okay, and we can control our destiny.
Let me give you a small example of some of the issues…
I came into the cinder block building at Sligo Ave and Piney Branch to be met by a wonderful woman who took my name, address, and $10 dues. In return, I received this membership card (right). I know times are tight, but this sort of thing predates the library card I had in the mid-1970s. And it’s not about flair; it’s about credibility. It’s about the small things that help make you feel like you belong to something greater than the sum of its parts, or that you appear to have the clout behind you that you actually say you do. Whether you like it or not, there’s marketing involved, and I think that’s one place things have to change.
Marketing, hopefully, will affect turnout, and turnout can affect issues. If you’re in the ‘hood, are part of a young family (children or not, mind you – couples without kids are families too, you know), and care about the environment in which your family lives, then please get involved.
I think the current leadership and regular participants feed on the fact that so many people get frustrated with ESSCA’s processes or don’t have enough time for the effort that they’ll fall by the wayside. That’s usually how it’s happened, and I want to change that.
Check back here for more thoughts in the months to come. Also, I’ve managed to purchase the domain name www.eastsilverspring.org (essca.org was already taken, of course), and as soon as I get a Web site up, I’ll start posting information on issues that matter to the *real* constituency of East Silver Spring. Social media tools anticipated, and feedback expected.
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Don’t forget to grab ESSCA or EastSilverSpring as a Twitter handle.
done. good call.
Your problem with the demographics of the civic association and that of the neighborhood is probably the same all over, at least it is in mine (I’ve been here awhile). Younger people think it is irrelevant and they won’t be living there very long, those with kids say they are too busy with kids’ activities (they also prefer the school listserv to the neighborhood listserv) and everyone thinks the members and officers are a bunch of busybodies, dictating to everyone else. [the listserv even was used to lambaste the officers of the civic ass'n., as if they were dictators, for simple proposals on positions on county policies. The lambaster would not discuss the issues in person.]
Everyone makes his/her choices and has an excuse for not participating. A lot of households pay membership but few attend meetings or vote. It is more interesting to attend when there are big issues, often contentious, and certainly our ass’n attendance has reflected that over the years. Eventually your kids grow up and the only thing that has remained the same is where you live, your neighborhood. I think it takes a while to learn that people have an investment in their own neighborhood and they can have a voice. Meanwhile the few people (10%+ of the neighborhood) who attend the civic association meetings are trying to represent the community to the county. Yes, most of them are above the median age, but they are the ones willing to do the work (for free). Just because they are older doesn’t mean they speak with the same voice, however.
My attendance has been irregular over time. (never an officer) In fact, for a while I attended because I felt my end of the neighborhood wasn’t represented well and should have more voice.
Because it represents a community, the ass’n has a larger (or louder) voice than individuals with the county government. Local politicians and government agency reps gladly talk to civic ass’n meetings. If residents feel unrepresented, they have to participate too. I wish attendance were as diverse as the neighborhood, but I don’t know how you convince those who feel other parts of their lives are more interesting.
Welcome to my world over the last 14 years or so. Your situation with your association is by no means unique. The thing you need to know is that county officials, both elected and appointed (i.e., the planning board), accept the civics as representatives of the community, even though they are well aware of the situation themselves.
Prime example: one guy I know was the president of a SS civic and went around proclaiming this or that position on behalf of his neighborhood, even though said association hadn’t had an actual meeting, let alone any kind of vote, for years.
It’s flawed system, but in the absence of any other, that’s what you’ve got. If you can take it over, more power to you. FYI, most county officials are only dimly aware of listservs, let alone any of the social media tools you reference. The only thing that moves them are phone calls, letters, faxes (yeah, people still do those) and e-mails. If you can generate those, you can influence the county.
Good luck.
Eric,
The East Silver Spring Citizens Association was a powerful force around here at one time. They are responsible for the fact that we have Bullis Park.
It was before I moved here, but I understand they fought the zoning and saved those couple of acres of park from being townhouses and apartments. Thanks in large part to Betsy Taylor (I hope that’s the right name) They must have also been instumental in saving us from the “Mall of America” and the big wave machine that would have been there instead of the Whole Foods Market.
I tried several years ago to do a website for East Silver Spring – (I think I may have even purchased that essca.org name at one time) Went to meetings a few times and NO ONE wanted to participate or was interested. I offered to do postcards, flyers, etc. to get the word out. This was a bit before the list serv for East Silver Spring started up. If you want help – COUNT ME IN 100%! I haven’t been to a meeting for years. The last meeting I went to there were 12-14 people there.
Just for the record, ESSCA had nothing to do with “saving” anyone from the Ghermazian’s attempt to build in DTSS. It collapsed under market forces because it was a silly idea, though it was worth raising for discussion.
Yeah – I guess the day-to-day operations tend to be less exciting than the big issues, but it’s nice to see others have the same issues, and that people are ready to get involved.
And I would anticipate that there are a lot of things “worth raising for discussion.” It makes me wonder how Ellsworth Drive ever got built.
The AARP set is well represented amongst ESSCA meeting participants because this demographic perceives that they have more time to get involved in neighborhood activities. Many young adults don’t see themselves as living in the area for any great length of time and many homeowners who have kids have chosen to prioritize parenting over civic activism.
I never regret having two kids (currently 3 1/2 and one year old) but I do regret that my parenting responsibilities preclude me from being as engaged in community affairs as I would like to be. Sure, it is my choice to spend time with my family after work instead of going to most ESSCA meetings, but I don’t know how I could do otherwise and at the same time be true to my sense of fairness and gender equity. Maybe in the 1950s and 60s, it was more acceptable for men to work all day and then hang out in the evening with the Shriners or the bowling league or what have you, but today most middle class, well-educated dads are expected to make a more substantial contribution to raising their kids and other domestic responsibilities.
I’m envious of the overacheiving dads (think Adrian Fenty, Tom Perez, Jamie Raskin, and Barack Obama). Really, how they do it?
And moms who work during the day probably feel even more guilt than dads that they have not spent time with their kids and place a higher priority on being with their kids after work.
Some studies (whose names I can’t recall off hand) have pointed out that all of this increased time spent with the kids actually doesn’t help strengthen marriages, and experts recommend leaving the kids with a baby sitter on a regular basis. We try to follow this advice, but have not yet felt compelled to spend a “date night” at an ESSCA meeting.
My guess is that many of East Silver Spring’s lower-income residents or recent immigrants don’t come to ESSCA meetings because, in addition to also wanting to spend time with their families, 1) They have no idea that ESSCA exists; 2) Their position as renters makes them feel less invested in the community; 3) They work evenings (including shift schedules or multiple jobs); 4) They have longer commutes and don’t get home until past the meeting start time; 5) There are language barriers to participating; 6) They went to one meeting, but none of the people looked like them or seemed to share their perspective, so they couldn’t relate to the organization and so they never came to another meeting.
ESSCA leadership could make a more concerted effort to be more inclusive and reach out to people that do not regularly attend the meetings, by partnering with IMPACT Silver Spring or the County or by making an effort to communicate with people living in the many apartment buildings in the ESSCA area.
If I had a lot of money, as well as a lot of time, I’d think about giving a grant to a non-profit organization to hire a community organizer to build civic ties along Thayer Avenue. The street’s population of at least 2,500 is bigger than many small towns in America, and there is a lot of untapped social capital on the street.
Dude. Don’t feel bad – last week was my first ESSCA meeting ever, and I’ve lived here for a few years, now. And I’m not trying to call people out – just merely highlighting the realities of the situation: Older retired people have time to dedicate to this, and younger families (with the *proper* focus on their families) don’t have a much. Plain and simple.
But if we can find a pool of, say, 12 regular attendees from our demographic and 3 or 4 or 5 of them could attend the monthly meeting (rotating people), that could be amazing for our say in ESSCA. I know it’s still a tall order and perhaps a bit idealistic, but that’s the thought.
No easy answers tonight, as I just watched a television show that blew my mind and have to spend some time twittering about it. Which also reminds me of the potential modernization of ESSCA…. *sweet dreams*
I appreciate Debbie Cook giving the history of Bullis Park. That park is one of my favorite things about living in this neighborhood. Guess I have ESSCA to thank for it!
Eric,
I think you should run for Vice President of ESSCA. East Silver Spring needs change in leadership. Ask someone to nominate you for the 18 May election. Get the experience and run for President in 2010.
The current president has his own motives and uses ESSCA’s well-established reputation in county government circles. There is generational rift now. Mr. Colvin and Mrs. Taylor has served us well but change is in order.
Eric, Bob Colvin and the other people in ESSCA work their tails off for this community. The meetings are only the tip of the iceberg. Your post and some of these comments make ESSCA sound like some exclusive club. It is not. Renters do come to meetings. People of different ages and ethnicities come. ESSCA has worked very hard for the small businesses in Silver Spring, many of which are owned by immigrants and other non-WASP folks. Unlike some neighborhood associations, ESSCA meets the same time and place each month, in a public building, smack in the middle of the neighborhood. If it weren’t for ESSCA, East Silver Spring would not exist. It would have been bulldozed long ago. I see no “generational rift.” And I am uncomfortable with the way individuals are being singled out in this blog. A rule from the Penguin: No personal attacks. A rule from the East Silver Spring listserv: Do not post anything you wouldn’t say to someone in the grocery store.
This is neither the Penguin, nor the East Silver Spring listserv. Those rules do not apply. I will address your other comments in an upcoming post.
Nancy, you write that you see know generational rift at ESSCA but how do you know this to be true? Has ESSCA ever surveyed its members about their wants, concerns, and needs and taken a look at whether their may be differences between its older and younger members?
ESSCA might consider surveying the members of itslistserv to find out more about what their priorities are for the neighborhood and whether they approve of the job that ESSCA leadership is doing. The survey could also ask respondents to identify some basic information about themselves (age, ethnicity, how long they have lived in the neighborhood, etc). It would be interesting to see if the demogrpahics of the ESSCA list mirrors the demographics of East Silver Spring as a whole. Websites like http://www.surveymonkey.com would allow one to design such a survey and administer it while keeping responses anonymous.
Somehow I don’t suspect this type of survey to be forthcoming from ESSCA leadership, so Eric, let me propose that http://www.thayeravenue.com develop such a survey, run it by someone who knows something about survey design and administration to minimize sources of error, and distribute it on the ESSCA listserv.
Nancy, you write that if not for ESSCA, East Silver Spring would not exist, it would have been bulldozed long ago. I’m not saying you’re wrong, but can you provide some specific examples of when ESSCA prevented homes or businesses in East Silver Spring from the wrecking ball? I know that civic activism in Takoma Park, MD helped stop the North Central Freeway from cutting through the historic district, but I’m unfamiliar with similar work to preserve large swaths of East Silver Spring.
Every organization, even ESSCA, needs to continue to grow and develope to be successful. Bob Colvin is a great guy, but he was first elected Prez of ESSCA the year I graduated from HS (1982). It is simply not right for one person to hold this important position for this long. When Bob finally relinquishes the position there will be a lack of organizational memory. There should be several past-presidents of ESSCA, not just one.
ESSCA leadersgip should look to the future – and encourage more community participation. It is the responsibility of the Board to ensure that ESSCA will continue to have new blood, and an experienced corps of leaders for the future.
I ran for ESSCA Prez in 2005, and lost to Bob by 23 votes. The meeting looked like a box of q-Tips. The voting took place before Bob and I squared-off for questions and comments. The election was a trangely-run thing. “Vote for Bob” posters on the registration table, people I had never seen before, and Bob used the ESSCA membership list to send out flyers ( I had no idea this was possible).I never really had a chance.
I have been to exactly one ESSCA meeting since then. The meetings are excruciating. I have to admit that you can get some good info at ESSCA meetings, but they could be so much more efficient and informative.
Once again, ESSCA really needs to make an effort to reach out to the community better. Why is there no Membership person?? I tried to volunteer after I lost, but I think the leaershp generally regards new members as a mixed-bag – better to run slim and maintain control.
Finally, over the years I have had occassion to talk and work with a number of MC Gov officials and elected leaders. While most of them respect ESSCA, many of them regrd ESSCA as an exclusive organization that does not neccassarily represent tthe community as a whole. Low membership numbers sometimes give ESSCA a credibility problem. I’d go back more often if more people came and pushed for more progressive and welcoming organization.
I know that a lot of other organizations have similar problems, but to say that ESSCA is pretty much like all the rest is just not right. ESSCA has fallen into a comfort level that keeps it from growing and better serving our community.
So how many dues-paying members are in ESSCA anyway? And how would I go about contacting the ESSCA members if I wanted to run for a leadership position? In order to vote in the elections you have to have paid your dues for the year and receive one of those little blue cards. But where could I find a membership list, if such a list even exists (I have to assume someone has it and would bring it to the May meeting to verify that the people voting at the meeting are in good standing with ESSCA).
Can anyone imaging trying to run for office in a local election but not being able to contact registered voters? Or registered Democrats (if you were running in, say, a Democratic primary)? I know that civic association politics are not exactly high politics but there really needs to be more transparency.
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