COURSEY: iPads at 20 paces

<p>Why stop at iPads?</p><p>If the city of Petaluma is going to restrict the use of iPads by council members at public meetings, shouldn't they also put the kibosh on cellphones, telephones and two cans connected by a string?</p><p>And what about lips? If loose lips can sink ships, they can definitely wreak havoc in city government.</p><p>Some in Petaluma are worried that if members of the City Council have an iPad in front of them at a council meeting, they may be receiving secret messages from unknown correspondents trying to sway their votes on important matters, or they may be using their electronic devices to swap votes with their fellow legislators.</p><p>Of course, that's possible. But let's be real here. Outlawing iPads won't prevent lobbying in government, or elected leaders from talking to each other. If our politicians are going to play favorites or make deals, they don't need new technologies to abet their schemes. They can do it the old-fashioned way.</p><p>But hold on. How about we back up for just a minute? What if, instead of assuming the worst from our elected leaders, we assume that they are trying to do the right thing?</p><p>I can almost hear the gasps as I type that sentence. Or the guffaws. A lot of people, apparently, believe it's either shocking or naïve to think that public servants are actually motivated by a desire to serve the public. Therefore, if they've got an iPad up there at the dais during a public meeting, they must be using it to subvert the public interest.</p><p>In stories this week by staff writer Lori Carter, Windsor Mayor Debora Fudge and Petaluma Councilwoman Tiffany Renee talked about this “trust issue.”</p><p>“We all took an oath,” Renee said at Monday's council meeting. “We have to maintain the law when we're not on the dais. But somehow things change when we're up here and we get a device? It just floors me.”</p><p>Said Fudge: “You need to work together with trust. We're professionals. You don't prevent a city from entering the 21st Century for a lack of trust. It just shows a deeper dysfunction that needs to be dealt with.”</p><p>And there is the rub. It's not about iPads at all. It's about making an enemy out of anyone you don't agree with. It's about turning every issue into an excuse to fight, instead of an opportunity to find a solution.</p><p>It's about the direction we're heading in local, state and national government – to a place where we'll all stand apart at 20 paces, draw our iPads, and shoot nasty messages to each other. </p><p>Fire away.</p><p>Chris Coursey's blog offers a community commentary and forum, from issues of the day to the ingredients of life in Sonoma County.</p>