Feedback

Thanks for visiting our feedback post!  While we'll work hard to cover a wide variety of topics related to civic engagement, there may be some things you'd like to hear more about or you might just have a comment or tip you'd like to share with us and others.  Please be assured that comments on this post are monitored just like the rest.  We want this blog to be as relevant and helpful to you as possible, so we welcome constructive input.

If you're looking to get in touch with someone at a specific program or service or have an issue that you don't want to share publicly and need a direct response on, please click here to contact our constituent services office.  Thank you!

Thanks for visiting our feedback post!  While we'll work hard to cover a wide variety of topics related to civic engagement, there may be some things you'd like to hear more about or you might just have a comment or tip you'd like to share with us and others.  Please be assured that comments on this post are monitored just like the rest.  We want this blog to be as relevant and helpful to you as possible, so we welcome constructive input.

If you're looking to get in touch with someone at a specific program or service or have an issue that you don't want to share publicly and need a direct response on, please click here to contact our constituent services office.  Thank you!

Comments

[J.S. Wilkerson]

Gov. Patrick: I am protesting the laws in your state that allowed an Illegal Alien with a long string of Criminal charges to go free, free to wantonly and callously DRAG a young man to a horrible death beneath his truck...and dismiss the death with a shrug!
The laws in your state, Gov, MUST be changed! If MASS. had laws that would have jailed that murderer, and then shipped him BACK to his own country, that young man, who had just graduated from the university, would be alive today! CHANGE THOSE LAWS, GOV!! You have enough blood on your hands!

[Transpartisan]

Dear Brade Blake,

It looks like your office set up this "feedback" blog in August 2009 (or earlier).

As of November 2010 (i.e., over the course of 15 months), you have gotten 5 people -- in the whole world -- to provide feedback to you. And, of those five, none could really be considered a "discussion-thread".

Maybe the relative absence of feedback means that, as you said a year ago (10/20/09), you ARE doing the "best" job possible, so that there is no need for people to provide feedback.

Or, more likely, your "best" efforts (thus far) have not been good enough to engage more than 5 people in providing feedback to you.

Maybe you should be more open to the possibility that there may be a few willing citizens out there who have a deeper and broader experience with online discussions than you do.

And, after all, isn't the primary reason for improving citizen engagement so that the people inside the government get to hear about ideas from "outside the bubble"?

vr,
Stephen Buckley
http://www.UStransparency.com

P.S. Like the majority of people with Internet access, I don't use RSS, so please let me know of any response here by email.

------

Jess Weiss responds: Thank you Stephen for taking the time to post your thoughts here. You are correct. We don't have as much engagement on this blog as we might like. (We have actually had 115 comments submitted to the blog since its start). That said, we work to stay connected with our citizens through many different forums. As you may recall, we had in person Town Hall meetings in 2008, 2009 and 2010, we had a collaborative online budget forum in 2009, we engaged in a budget and fiscal information tour in 2009, and we continue to maintain an active presence on this blog, on Twitter and on other social media platforms. Additionally, we stay connected by phone, by US mail and by email through the dedicated work of our Constituent Services Office.

We are working to engage people where they are. This administration always has and continues to value the participation of its citizens. We want all residents to find ways to stay connected and influence government. Whether it is through blog comments like yours, tweets, letters to the editor, attending public meetings or connecting in various other ways, we welcome and encourage public participation. As the Governor has said many times, an active citizenry betters our communities and our government.Thanks again for your feedback.

[Jason]

There needs to be a policy about what comments are allowed and which are not. I posted a comment yesterday that went into moderation and does not seem to be published now. If dissenting opinions are not allowed, I do not know what the point of an "Engage" blog is. Regardless, I wouldn't have wasted my time writing if I'd known the policy.

---

Hi Jason - apologies for not publishing your comment. We do strive to get them published in a timely manner. We value your input and will be more careful going forward. ~ JW

[David Klein]

I wanted to point out a great PSA resource that was posted by you colleagues at the Boston Public Health Commission on "What You Should Know About The Flu" (http://my.brainshark.com/What-You-Should-Know-About-The-Flu-323001767?tx=mga).

It is a very clear overview focusing mostly on the seasonal flu, but also references H1N1 (Swine Flu.) As Tom, the presenter states, it includes "...what you can do to prevent the spread of flu, and how you can take care of someone who is sick with the flu."

I haven't seen any recent posting on your blog on this topic, but I figured I would still give kudos to other parts of your administration.

David

[nina renshaw]

I work at UMASS Amherst. I work as an 03(that means no benefits) They call it a part time employee. I work 40 hours a week. For 7 weeks out of the year I get laid off and can't collect unemployment. I think this practice must have started with salaried, benefited employees not hourly waged workers who don't make a living wage. The Commonwealth does not provide me with health insurance (which they mandate having) sick time or vacation time and I have to give up the social security benefits I have paid into for 35 years. SHAME SHAME on you for treating your employees and citizens that pay taxes(land and income and excise.sales etc. etc.) and work hard, like we're a third world nation of employees. Our commonwealth would ignore us and force us to beg for food stamps and fuel assistance instead of giving us the options they expect from other employers of the commonwealth. SHAME SHAME I am a part of your dirty little secret.

[mike]

How can i take this group as one that seriously has influence if it can not update its website with new information daily or even weekly?
===========================

Brad Blake responds: Hi Mike - We do our best to engage with citizens in a number of places, both online and off. In addition to our official website at www.mass.gov/governor, full of deep and broad information, we manage a Twitter account where the Governor and members of his staff share information, thoughts and ideas and respond to constituent and media questions. We have a robust YouTube channel, at www.youtube.com/massgovernor, where we post direct messages from the Governor, clips of questions and answers from Town Hall Meetings, and answers to video questions. We've begun a series of Commonwealth Conversations Blogs, including this one, to talk about issues around public health, transportation, innovation, jobs and more. We post photos to Flickr, make information available via RSS feeds, a public event calendar, and more. This past spring, we lead an online community forum where citizens, the Governor, and senior members of his administration openly discussed issues around revenue, transportation, ethics and pension reform.

All that being said, we can't be everywhere at once. I hope you'll take the time to find ways to stay connected and influence what your government does that work with you, whether it's following this blog (even if we can only post once a week at times), attending public meetings, connecting in one of the various other online options I mentioned above. As the governor has said countless times, it's your government.

[Mary Margart Moore]

There needs to be a blog on Community First/ Olmstead Plan as well as Emergency Preparedness for those that Request or Require Additional Assistance. Thank you.