Citizens for Responsible Government (CRG) is a fairly recent addition to the non-profit scene in Josephine County, so members decided a booth at the fair would be a good way to get the word out about the organization. Space was reserved and the work began.

Teams of volunteers decorated the walls, prepared handouts, provided ladders and tables, donated money for a $200 gift certificate for a local restaurant for a drawing, then took four-hour shifts in the booth answering questions from those passing by.

Exhausting? Yes. But Exhilarating.

CRG, a non-partisan organization to help people better understand their local government, got to meet those people on a one-to-one basis.

Many were unsure of how the government closest to them actually works but were eager to learn more. This indicated to volunteers working the booth that more education is needed to bring people’s awareness levels up about the governmental processes going on in their own backyards.

All three Josephine County Commissioners stopped by the CRG booth during the course of the fair to say hello. Other people stopped by just to talk about their political views. But while some were definitely partisan one way or another, they were polite and supportive of CRG’s mission to make people aware of what constitutes good government.

CRG’s big reveal – a proposal for a county charter amendment to expand the Josephine County Board of Commissioners from three full-time members, all running at large, to five part-time members elected at large but from districts who would select a county manager to handle administrative duties, was well received by those who learned about it. People who listened were intrigued by the idea and agreed that it’s probably time to restructure a local governing system in place since before Oregon was a state and few people populated the area.

They were especially receptive to the idea of better representation by people running from districts who would be closer to the needs of the people in those districts. A few members of the community shared their thoughts regarding the five commissioners and the county manager. It was enlightening to look at the plan from different points of view. Overall, it was observed that reaching out to the community will help refine the proposal.

For first-time booth organizers, volunteers decided things went well, but improvements based on this experience will help future efforts to engage with the public. The fair booth was a blueprint for CRG to do more outreach to help Josephine County citizens become more aware of just how their local government affects their lives and what they can do when they have a problem.

The winner of the drawing, held at CRG’s general meeting Aug. 8, was David Bartlett. To qualify for the drawing, he took a quiz testing his knowledge of local governance and answered every question correctly.

Hopefully, even those who didn’t engage but passed by and paused for a moment to look at our banner, will remember CRG as a positive group with friendly members reaching out to learn more about them and their concerns.