Talking Citizens' Assemblies in City Hall

Join us in Burlington or online Wednesday, May 31st for a public info session on building a better democracy in Vermont and beyond (there will be pie)

It’s fair to say that the phrase “citizens’ assemblies” is not exactly on the lips of every American (yet). But at 6 pm on Wednesday, May 31st, we’re getting that conversation started in earnest here in Burlington, Vermont, with your help.

If you live in the Burlington area, please consider joining us in Contois Auditorium in City Hall for an evening of live music, apple pie, and engaging presentations by two leading voices in the citizens’ assembly movement, Terry Bouricius and Alex Renirie. If you’re not able to attend in person, we will send out a livestream link closer to the date, and later post that recording to YouTube.

Terry is a former Burlington city councillor and Vermont state representative who was instrumental in bringing about the Neighborhood Planning Assemblies in Burlington in the 1980’s, and has been writing about the potential of citizens’ assemblies for decades. He is also publishing his book “The Trouble With Elections: Why Everything We Thought We Knew About Democracy is Wrong” here on our Substack.

Alex is the co-director of the Oregon nonprofit Healthy Democracy, which has been a pioneer in implementing citizens’ assemblies and other forms of citizen deliberation on the West Coast. She will be joining us via Zoom to share her unique experiences working with local governments and panels of lottery-selected citizens to create change on a number of issues.

We hope this event leaves you feeling optimistic for once about the future of democracy in America, and can’t wait to see you in City Hall in two weeks. Thanks again for being a supporter of Democracy Creative!