Committee advances opt‑out community choice aggregation bill after amendments and debate The committee reported LD 2112 'ought to pass as amended' by an 8–5 vote after discussion and amendments that would convert Maine’s community choice aggregation framework from opt‑in to opt‑out, require municipal approval processes, protect customers on assistance, and add a local referendum requirement and changes to data‑sharing provisions.

Maine's energy landscape is changing as lawmakers push for a new community choice aggregation bill that could revolutionize how residents access electricity!

Click to read more!

#ME #LocalDemocracy #CitizenPortal #MaineCommunity

Democracy works best when information is accessible.

We’re building tools at Suffrago to help connect MPs, journalists and communities with better local data.

Sign up now at www.suffrago.org to find out more.

#UKPolitics #PublicData #LocalDemocracy #CivicTech #DemocracyMatters

Robert Morrisey represents Breightmet.

We’re putting your questions directly to him , what would you like to ask?
Join the discussion 👇
www.suffrago.org/forum/bolton...
#LocalDemocracy #Breightmet #Bolton #Politics #YourVoicesHeard

Got a question for Hannah? Post it on our forum and we’ll take it directly to her.
👉 Join the discussion now on Suffrago: www.suffrago.org/forum/gorton...

#LocalDemocracy #Gorton #Denton #GreenParty #YourVoicesHeard #hannahspencer #zackpolanski #manchester #byelection #democracy #vote #news

Happy Read Across America Day! 📚✨

While we’re busy proofing ballots for the upcoming May 19 election, we want to know: what are you reading?

Drop your current read in the comments! 👇📖

#ReadAcrossAmerica #ElectionPrep #LocalDemocracy #CurrentlyReading

Delighted to see Clare Bryan elected as Warwick’s newest Town Councillor. This is so well deserved! 💚

#Warwick
#WarwickTownCouncil
#GreenParty
#GreenerWarwick
#LocalDemocracy
#CommunityFirst

Post yours in the Bury North Forum on Suffrago and join the conversation www.suffrago.org/forum/bury-n... .

#BuryNorth #LocalDemocracy #BuryVoices #Manchester #MPs #Suffrago Bury Council
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🗳️ Local Democracy Thematic Working Group Meeting of #LPSA coming in May.
📅 19 May | ⏰ 9–10:30AM NYT | 💻 Online
🔎 More information: sdglocalaction.org/local-democr...
#LocalDemocracy #LPSA #LocalGovernments #ParticipatoryGovernance #SDGs #LocalAction

#LocalGovernment #LocalGovernmentReorganisation
#Devolution #Governance #PublicTrust
#CouncilLeadership #PublicPolicy #LocalDemocracy #AlinGovernment

"Cities are laboratories for solutions" - CEMR CCRE Pol Morillas (CIDOB), MEP Hanna Jalloul and local leaders reflect on the current geopolitics and its effects in Europe, global disorder, and why local leaders...

“Cities are laboratories for solutions in an age of brutal geopolitics.”

🏛️At a UCLG Europe debate, Pol Morillas, MEP Hanna Jalloul and local leaders discussed global disorder, EU legitimacy & why municipalities matter more than ever.

🔗 ccre-cemr.org/european-obs...
#LocalDemocracy #EU

Letters: Voting is not the only way to hold our elected councillors to account - Bedford Independent Bedford Borough Council appears to be unravelling before our eyes, with blame being thrown around at a range of individuals. But when...

Letters: "Democracy in England has been reduced to little more than voting once every four or five years. That now seems to be widely (mis)understood as the limit of our civic duties..."

#Bedford #BedfordNews #Letters #Democracy #BedfordBoroughCouncil #LocalDemocracy #Voting #PeoplePower

The Fire Station consultation is a reminder:

If you don’t speak up, decisions get made without you.

Will you respond to the consultation?

Yes 👍
No 👎
Not sure yet 🤔

Tell us where you stand 👇
#PublicServices #CommunityVoice #Buckinghamshire #LocalDemocracy #HaveYourSay

Aerial shot of Birmingham city centre

Safer Canvassing Principles .

Standing for election should never mean standing in harm’s way. The LGA’s Seven Principles for Safer Canvassing help councillors and candidates stay safe while engaging with the public.

https://orlo.uk/MCrPN

#DebateNotHate #LocalDemocracy

Government abandons plans to delay 30 local council elections in May - UK politics live The government was warned by its lawyers that sucha move could be illegal as it pledges an additional £63m to help councils with reorganisation

Another climbdown after another assault on Democracy. We can rush through legislation to ban social media for kids (but leave the filth on social media alone) but it takes years and years to rejig local democracy....it's almost like Labour doesn't really know […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]

Rural educators and a student tell Education Committee new Act 73 maps threaten small-town schools School leaders and a student from Orleans County told the Education Committee on Feb. 13 that maps tied to Act 73 and a shift toward larger elected school districts could depersonalize decisions, threaten small schools and fail to deliver promised savings; witnesses also flagged rising health, transportation and special-education costs.

Rural educators and students warn that new proposals could jeopardize small-town schools and diminish local representation in Vermont's education system.

Read the full story

#VT #LocalDemocracy #CitizenPortal #EducationReform #CommunitySchools #VermontEducation

Freeport council votes to take no action after staff finds recall petition falls short of required signatures City staff verified 244 unique petition entries but only 194 met voter-record criteria; the Freeport City Council voted to take no action on an ordinance calling a recall election for Mayor Jerry Cain at a special meeting Feb. 13, 2026.

The Freeport City Council has decided not to move forward with a recall election for Mayor Jerry Cain after a verification revealed the petition fell short by nearly 30 signatures.

Get the details!

#FreeportBrazoriaCounty #TX #CivicAccountability #LocalDemocracy #CitizenPortal #ElectionIntegrity

Knowsley, this one’s for you 👇
Anneliese Midgley MP has been campaigning on justice reform, transparency and AI rights.
What would you ask her?
Post your question in the Knowsley Forum at Suffrago.org — we’ll take it directly to your MP.
#LocalDemocracy #Knowsley #YourVoice #AskYourMP #UKPolitics

This Bill talks about devolution, but vague wording risks weak participation.

Amendment 60 would set clear minimum standards so communities genuinely shape decisions.

#LocalDemocracy #CommunityVoice

Local government reorganisation should not be rushed through from the centre and dressed up as devolution. Change can work — but only when it has local consent.

If ministers truly believe in devolution, they must trust communities to shape their own future.

#LocalDemocracy #Devolution

Dingwall and Seaforth Area Committee - February 2026 YouTube video by The Highland Council

Dingwall and Seaforth Area Committee - Feb 2026 Meeting 📽️

📺 Watch: youtu.be/bTZmRuPif8A
🗒️ Papers: highland.gov.uk/meetings/mee...

#DingwallAndSeaforth #HighlandCouncil #LocalDemocracy

75 years of CEMR - CEMR CCRE

🎉 75 years of #CEMR means 75 years of people shaping Europe locally.

From elected leaders to communities on the ground, our anniversary is about the #LocalHeroes who make democracy work every day.

ccre-cemr.org/75-years-of-...

#CEMR75 #LocalDemocracy

Nairnshire Area Committee - February 2026 YouTube video by The Highland Council

Nairnshire Area Committee - Feb 2026 Meeting 📽️

📺 Watch: youtu.be/t7QtAi9XO8I
📄 Papers: www.highland.gov.uk/meetings/mee...

#Nairn #HighlandCouncil #LocalDemocracy

On Tuesday, February 10, ballots are due for voter-approved levies to support the Bellevue School District and Lake Washington School District. Remember to approve these levies and turn in your ballot on time! #LD48Dems #GetInvolved #LocalDemocracy #ShowUp #WashingtonDemocrats #KingCountyDemocrats

A lot of this opposition comes from the fact that residents feel ignored when decisions are made by an unelected local government ('Council CEO' and Directors of Services who form the executive) - and I completely agree with Cllr Adam Wyse's recent appeals to improve democratic accountability. Changing Section 38 wouldn't be enough, as it still encourages elected councillors to oppose everything (as every councillor is effectively forced into being in opposition due to our undemocratic system of local government where they are blocked from being decision-makers), denies them any ability to form a democratic executive, and allows the Council CEO and Directors of Services to ignore public feedback without any cost. Every other democracy in the world has 1 of 3 forms of democratic government structures: A cabinet system with an executive formed of elected councillors - a Local Mayor and Local Ministers (like we and most other European countries have at national level, a parliamentary system) A committee system with a series of cross-party executive Local Committees for Housing, Transport etc - this works really well in Scotland especially as it encourages cross-party collaboration and includes all democratic representatives. A mayoral/presidential system, with a directly-elected executive mayor and Local Commissioners that they appoint, all held accountable by elected councillors. This system has been implemented in Limerick (to a minor extent, with the Council CEO renamed Director General and still retaining a lot of power without any democratic accountability).

We currently have one of the most centralised countries in both the OECD and the EU, and are one of the only countries in Europe where votes trust their local government less than their national government (which generally holding relatively higher levels of trust for both due to our brilliant proportional and preferential STV-PR electoral system). Our unique lack of democratic accountability due to our undemocratic system of local government (which, once again, is distinct from every other democracy in the world, which has autonomous democratic local governments of one form or another) is a major reason for this. Until the system changes to one where local councils can choose a democratic structure where they are elected to make decisions as part of an accountable executive, we will continue incentivising councillors to oppose any changes (because of a few vocal voters drowning out the majority with our individual objector planning instead of a majority participative planning system) and an unelected Local Government which is encouraged to ignore voter concerns and input.

I hope that everyone reading this can support local government reform to allow us to join the rest of the democratic world in having local executives which face democratic accountability. The UK has had a bad history of underfunding local government and centralising things, but implemented successful structural reforms in their local government reform of 2000 [full legislation here], which allowed each council to choose 1 of 4 structures (cabinet, committee, mayoral, and council CEO - similar to our current system but with the council CEO appointed by councillors instead of national government to improve local democratic accountability; this was later removed as an option because not a single council in the UK chose this worse system when given the choice). Please consider expediting the creation of new safe and segregated bike infrastructure (inner ring road, urban Greenway to Tramore, and Cork Road) before there are any more casualties of cyclists and e-scooter users due to lack of safe infrastructure. People are always against roadworks and upheaval, but so rarely complain about infrastructure once it's completed and they see the results in terms of improved traffic levels, more freedom of travel, and better wellbeing. And please consider putting pressure on your parties and other councillors to support local government reform into one which is more democratic and trusted, alongside holding more decentralised powers.

And all of this could be improved with a democratic local government instead of the undemocratic/unaccountable Council CEO system we have now:

#LocalDemocracy #Ireland #LocalGovernmentReform #Democracy #Irish #Community #Waterford #Democratic #LocalGovernment #IrishPolitics #Cycling #WaterfordCity

Egham Precinct community engagement consultation – Runnymede Borough Council Egham Precinct community engagement consultation

Have your say on the plans for Egham precinct www.runnymede.gov.uk/say/egham-pr... #Egham #localDemocracy

Asheville City Council Candidate Forum - Part Three YouTube video by WPVM 103.7 Channel

David Moritz and Blake Butler join Dr. Chris Cooper for Part 3 of City Council Primary Candidate Forum - Presented by Radio Asheville 103.7.
#LocalDemocracy #AshevilleVoters #CityCouncilCandidates

If Carney thinks the fiction of the current economic system has been broken, why would we try to build the same false structure with different masters? It’s time for a peoples’/wellbeing/sustainable economic framework. #LocalDemocracy #MMT #Community

Tensions in public comment: foreign-policy speeches prompt brief recess at Margate commission meeting A series of public comments criticizing U.S. foreign policy and calling to "Free President Nicolas Maduro" led to interruptions and a brief recess during the Margate City Commission meeting; commissioners noted federal foreign-policy issues are outside the city's authority.

Emotions ran high at the Margate City Commission meeting as residents passionately criticized U.S. foreign policy and demanded a shift from military intervention to diplomacy.

Read the full story.

#MargateBrowardCounty #FL #MargatePublicComment #ForeignPolicyCritique #LocalDemocracy

Great day at the House of Lords for the AGC.Met councillors & Green peers @natalieben & @GreenJennyJones +MPs @sianberry & @EllieChowns Strong discussions on empowering communities, and linking local action with Parliament.
#GreenCouncillors #AGC #HouseOfLords #LocalDemocracy

52+ more WEEKS of £300+ p/w in their pockets!
💷 #EasyMoney vs #Democracy

#PboroShittyCouncil aka #Pottyborough!
#UKlabour #LocalDemocracy #JobsForTheBoys #Nepotism #Taxpayers #BrokenBrtain #LetUsVote #Democracy #Fibsters #Peterborough