Ears As Well As E Were Opened At Forum

At first glance, it appeared to be a typical candidates forum - the candidates in the front row and the audience filling up the back.

It was about three weeks until the election, and there were a lot of questions about how welfare reform would affect child care. Would we providers have to do more with less?

I had encouraged my fellow child-care providers and parents to attend by promising them they would not have to speak if they did not want to.

They could write their questions on paper, pass them to the moderator and never be identified. Sure, that was a safe way to interact with the candidates, but was it the most effective?

The Eastern Washington Family Daycare Association’s Public Policy Committee decided there was a better way. Promises aside, we felt it was crucial to involve everyone. The participants were apprehensive about our format change but soon stepped up to the challenge.

We had invited all 16 of the candidates from the 3rd, 4th and 6th legislative districts. Twelve attended.

Our new format was to have all candidates introduce themselves and answer one broad question. After introductions, we divided the group into their legislative districts with two candidates in each group. We had a facilitator in each group in case the conversation didn’t flow.

After a couple of fearful minutes, I heard something wonderful. There were two-way discussions and even laughter! The audience was sharing the reality of its world, and the candidates were listening.

I hear so often that our representatives don’t listen and don’t accomplish much. We need to ask ourselves what we are contributing to the process.

Do we take the time to find out more about the issues surrounding us? Do we take the time to communicate with our representatives?

At the end of the forum, the candidates reported back to the group what they had heard. I could tell by the looks on the participants’ faces that they not only felt listened to but also heard.

We child-care providers will continue to inform our legislators about our issues and pay attention to the way they vote, but we will do so knowing they have a better understanding of the people they represent.

MEMO: “Your turn” is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a “Your turn” column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write “Your turn,” The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane 99210-1615.