On April 24, the Office of State Comptroller, Sean Scanlon, the CT Conference of Municipalities, the UConn Political Science Department and many others unveiled the CT Citizens Assembly. The assembly seeks to put 100 residents from all walks of life together and engage them in a citizens assemb ly process akin to processes that have occurred in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Belgium. This all comes in the hope that the group emerges with ideas on how to better shape policy on property tax reform and solve the question of how to fund local public services such as schools, public safety and more. Abdul Osmanu As a Democratic Socialist Legislative Councilman in the Town of Hamden, perpetually tasked with limitations in what is municipally possible as a result of archaic structures, I am rather excited. As someone who recently traveled over 5,000 miles to Brazil, soul-searching for an answer to what transforming or saving whatever was and remains of imperfect American democracy, I see a glimmer of hope. It is a chance to provide a glowing example of the radical imagination we need to avert the auspices of authoritarianism found in every microlevel expression of hope for strong leaders to fix a problem and for what we witness playing out at the federal level and across global north governments. The saying that “democracy dies in darkness” is often attributed to American journalist Robert Woodward. Perhaps I took this too seriously in my voyage to the sunny, temperate country of Brazil to study from friends and newfound family in the global struggle against authoritarianism and fascist sentiments. In my time in Brazil, I was able to engage in meaningful exchange, learning more about the current struggles and the history of participatory budgeting in its birthplace of Porto Alegre. That is where it emerged as an effort to bolster democracy and address generational poverty coming out of a two-decade long U.S.-backed military dictatorship. In exchange, my friends prodded me with questions about the modern paramilitary-esque operation of ICE, realities of Trumpism and No Kings Rallies they were excited to learn the many chants of. I left not only seeing the parallels and distinctions between movements in the U.S., Brazil and other countries across the world but also inspired by the stories of what is possible when the government entrusts meaningful power to the communities it represents. Now with this citizens assembly we have what could be a major centerpiece of an earnest attempt to strengthen what democracy looks like to us all, not generally in the U.S. but even here in the “Blue Wall” that is Connecticut. Already Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Kentucky, Washington, and Pennsylvania have shown interest in observing the process eager to replicate. What excites me most about the opportunity that lies ahead with the Citizens Assembly is the ability to capture lightning in a bottle with this process. In a state like Connecticut, seldom do we have opportunities to transform democracy as we experience it and move the needle on a critical issue in the way this assembly potentially can. Within my own household that received an invitation letter and spans a wide spectrum of political engagement, there was debate over who would participate in the assembly. This assures me somewhat of the promise of this experiment. In my role as a key partner in the establishment of the third of-its-kind (in the U.S.) districtwide participatory budgeting process that empowers parents and students as informed stewards of their communities, I’ve seen the measurable difference when you explain the concepts of participatory and deliberative democracy to the average person. Some have even been rightfully skeptical of whether they truly have a say in allocation when I explain such concepts.  Who is to blame for such sentiments in a society where the amount of money and influence that flows into elections and decision-making produces a sentiment of disempowerment for the average person — one that often reduces voting into a ritual act that gives a sense of participation rather than a true genuine exercise of democratic power? How are we to get individuals in an increasingly alienated society to buy into the collective mission of beating back against authoritarianism when we have yet to put a finger on broadening a democracy that people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. envisioned — a democracy in terms of how decisions are made and power is shared and how that economically breaks down? In a time where “affordability” has become the popular buzzword, let us also remember failure to articulate a transformed vision of democracy that can be grasped by every one of us is ample space for authoritarianism to take root. Likewise we should consider the grave warnings of over-bureaucratization and love of institutions over focus on the overall mission and people my dear friends in Porto Alegre and Rio De Janeiro made clear to me. Here in the land of steady habits, between the citizens assembly and our nascent experiment with participatory budgeting in Hamden, we have the chance not only to tackle longstanding issues but give birth to new steady habits of relentless pursuit of structuring democracy to mean something to us all.  It would be a democracy we can equally hear, see, smell, taste and feel within our day-to-day lives regardless of our zip code. To paraphrase Brazilian singer Milton Nasciemento, what lies in front of us with this opportunity is “Tudo que nós poderiamos ser,” everything we could be. Abdul Osmanu is a member of the Hamden Legislative Council. ...read more read less