10/29/2024
Chris Pederson for Medina City Council
Post #3: The value of a more engaged class of Public Representatives looking to learn not lecture.
Tonight I attended the MN Blockchain Society’s monthly meet up event. The speaker topic was:
“Candidates for Mayor, U.S. Congress & Senate, MN House, and City Council.”
There was a candidate representing each of these five elected positions with myself being the only candidate running for City Council. In other words, I was the lowest rung of the US political totem speaking at the event. 😅
And of the 35+ members in attendance, I believe I was also, the only eligible voter living in Medina. Which it appeared was the case for majority of the other candidate speakers as well aside from the US Senate.
But that was the best part about tonight is that it wasn’t about the campaign or really even about WHO was running at all and whether they could score a few votes on a Monday night at Frankie’s Pizza in New Hope. But rather an educational discussion asking questions and seeking better understanding on a highly nuanced subject from a niche but knowledgeable MN Blockchain membership.
The engaging discussion that took place after each candidate spoke was actually productive for various reasons. One of which, not one person in the room, candidate or otherwise pretended to be an expert on blockchain technology. Were there a few rants and complaints leveled at the Federal Reserve and IRS. Of course. Were some over-the-top or too oversimplified? Yes, a few. Were some of the critiques and proposed potential solutions spot on? Also yes.
But at least to me, as both a speaker and listener that the candidates were there to learn instead of lecture. Connecting on a new and relevant topic rather than campaigning on the old prescribed topics we’ve been fed daily for decades on our device.
The topic of an emerging tech naturally led to a room that was learning from one another. Observing the other candidates engage with a knowledgeable yet niche audience on a highly nuanced topic that requires active thought and listening to understand, was exciting to see and participate in.
Later in the night, one of the blockchain members approached me and began sharing about an open-source yet secure application he had developed that could potentially be applied to property variances at the administrative level. We didn’t have time to get into much detail but based on my own past 3+ years of recent experience working through our own Planned Unit Development (PUD) in Medina, I could see the benefits something this could offer in terms of convenience, clarity, public transparency and security and likely most of all, efficiency in terms of the time it would save both city staff and applicant if properly implemented.
Bottom line, exploring new ways to manage old processes to achieve the same or better results more efficiently, securely and inexpensively is something that private businesses and public companies do all the time.
Yet as we all know, government processes are notoriously the opposite. They are becoming more inefficient for both staff and those they seek to serve. Less secure for literally eyeryone with cyber security data breaches hitting ALL sectors of private and public institutions like never before. They are also becoming far more expensive too (shocker).
This is *somewhat* more understandable at the Federal level, but smaller governing bodies like cities seem to still have that opportunity and believe it is worth our time to explore these matters more. And not just for blockchain tech, but energy independence, sustainable agriculture, community engagement, incentivizing more localized economies, and addressing public safety and security more holistically by considering both the physical AND the digital safety and cyber security of its private residents. Make no mistake, centralized data storage and cyber security infrastructure is struggling (Google cyber security breaches in last 5 years). And the cities who get ahead of this, will do better by its residents and businesses in the brave new world we are living in whether we acknowledge it yet or not.
Either way, the general middle aged public like myself must become more educated on blockchain and other emerging tech if we are to actually be acting on behalf of the younger generation whose future many politicians claim to care about but few take the time to take seriously.
Regardless, I do believe blockchain technology to be one of the most ubiquitously disruptive technological advances to present itself since the internet. And if I’m right, I do hope to be representing Medina on the City Council as this inevitable tech begins incorporating itself into our lives whether you choose to understand its implications or not.
That being said, I do understand many of its implications and as a proud life long learner, I am excited to offer my experiences and knowledge gained from nights like tonight to any city staff, appointed commissions, elected officials and/or the Medina public community as a whole. So long as they are curious enough to hear me and skeptical enough to ask the right questions so we can all learn together.
Thanks Brandon Ferdig for hosting and those who showed up for the right reasons. 🤝
