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Local officials pledge to foster more respectful public meetings in Connecticut

 Legislative public hearing on Connecticut vaccine policy in Westport in September 2019
Ebong Udoma
Legislative public hearing on Connecticut vaccine policy in Westport in September 2019

Officials from more than 50 Connecticut cities and towns have pledged to foster more respectful civil engagement in their communities.

The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, the state’s largest association of cities and towns is responsible for the pledge.

The CCM “Civility Pledge” is in response to an increase in contentious public meetings, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Joseph DeLong, CCM executive director and CEO.

“To have a dialogue and to disagree is very important and very necessary, particularly to carry our local government and the work of the communities,” DeLong said.

DeLong added that it must be done respectfully. “And these are elected officials who are pledging to do everything that they can to create an environment or space that is respectful and productive.”

Ninety-two local officials have signed the pledge in the past month, including several mayors and first selectmen.

The pledge is derived from Princeton University’s Bridging Divides Initiative, which CCM has used to teach how to lead public meetings in contentious times to municipal and school board leaders from across the state.

Copyright 2022 WSHU. To see more, visit WSHU.

As WSHU Public Radio’s award-winning senior political reporter, Ebong Udoma draws on his extensive tenure to delve deep into state politics during a major election year. In addition to providing long-form reports and features for WSHU, he regularly contributes spot news to NPR, and has worked at the NPR National News Desk as part of NPR’s diversity initiative.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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