SFIrish got a big win at her city council meeting on Monday. I won't bother with what it was about, but I will say this: she put a ton of effort into talking to people on both sides of the issue to get a sense for its importance and its impact, she reminded folks from both sides to come to the meeting and comment, despite knowing which side she agreed with, she put a lot of work into studying data on the issue, she put a lot of effort into crafting her comments, and she won--winning over the undecided swing vote in an acrimonious debate, despite him leaning pretty strongly the other way a few days before.
I say this not only because I'm proud of her, but also because that swing vote probably wasn't swayed as much by her as he was by the people who showed up to comment (via Zoom, as is the way right now--they didn't even need to leave their dwelling). Showing up to comment to the decision makers still matters in a democracy, probably more than anything else. Certainly a lot more than ranting on Facebook, Twitter, or even CFB51.com. So it probably wasn't her words at the meeting, but it was her huge effort to get people to show up that mattered.
And the denouement? Despite all the research, talking--and listening--to both sides, etc., people unhappy with the decision think it's mindless, national talking points that drove the vote, and are more than happy to say so.