The Bellwether: What Milford Thinks
CommonWealth magazine has chosen Milford as the location for an online experiment in community democracy that will not only help residents of the Worcester County community sort out issues facing them but also provide insights into the psyche of voters this election year.
The platform for this experiment is a website where residents can propose, discuss, and even vote on local issues of importance to them without ever leaving their homes.
CommonWealth, which is published by the non-partisan think tank MassINC, will also participate in these discussions in an attempt to learn what’s on the minds of voters in Milford this election year. The feedback will be used as source material for stories about what’s important to real voters this year. What issues are important to them? Are the candidates running for office addressing theose issues? Are voters angry, as some politicians suggest?
Milford is a great place to hold these types of discussions because it is a bellwether for the state as a whole. The town has voted for the winner in every governor’s race since 1990 and also backed Scott Brown in his stunning upset victory over Attorney General Martha Coakley in the race for the US Senate seat previously held by Edward M. Kennedy. What voters in Milford have to say is indicative of what’s going on across the state.
The Bellwether project is being funded by a grant from The Boston Foundation and the James L. and John S. Knight Foundations. The website where Milford voters can share their thoughts was created by a Boston startup called Localocracy.
To get the Milford site up and running, we are asking community leaders to become among the first participants to contribute ideas for the issues that Milford residents will discuss. The site’s value increases with the recruiting of additional Milford residents through viral networks such as Facebook and Linkedin. Once you register, you will see how to share your own thoughts and enter into the discussion. Register here.
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