Community roundtable to promote Democratic engagement

09/15/2022 

Ways to encourage Cortland County folks to become more involved in their democracy on a local level will be discussed at a Community Roundtable on Thursday, Oct. 6, at SUNY Cortland.

The in-person program, titled “Getting Cortland County More Democratically Engaged,” will feature a panel discussion with local civic leaders.

Panelists will describe the challenges, actions and benefits of projects that they and others are developing to increase people’s democratic engagement — their voices — in Cortland County decision-making.

Panelists will include:

• City of Cortland Mayor Scott Steve
• John Suarez, director of SUNY Cortland’s Institute for Civic Engagement
• League of Women Voters of Cortland County President Sheila Cohen
• Cortland County District 3 Legislator Cathy Bischoff

“Low rates of voter registration and citizen engagement in government decision-making are hurting our community,” said Suarez, who also coordinates the university’s Office of Service-Learning and is co-managing editor of The Journal of the Scholarship of Engagement.

“To help bring more voices into civic decision-making, people in education, government, nonprofits and business are working to provide opportunities for people to become more involved,” he said.

The roundtable will take place from 8 to 9 a.m. in the Park Center Hall of Fame Room. Refreshments will be served at 7:45 a.m.

The Community Roundtable series provides programs on diverse intellectual, regional and cultural topics of interest to College faculty and staff and community members. Sponsored by the President’s Office, the Community Roundtable is free and open to the public. Registration is not required. Parking in the Park Center lot is open to the public during the roundtables. To request accommodations, contact Special Events for the President at 607-753-5453.

For more information, contact John Suarez.