34 RIGHT OF WAY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019
communicators who are
plugged into many and diverse
community networks. Finally,
the Governor’s Mansion (with
Governor Romer present) was
to be made available every
Sunday between 2:00 pm and
4:00 pm for all of the barbers,
beauticians and bartenders
(The 3 Bs) in Adams County
to come in and talk over what
they were hearing, and to get
factual information into their
hands through face-to-face
communication.
Part of the JKA Discovery
Process is to find out how
information in a community
is transmitted and what
systems are trusted. From the
gathering places to the flea
markets, all of the people were
natural communicators in their
respective networks and they
moved information informally
throughout Adams County. JKA
had found that these natural
communication networks had
the theme of “no jobs and
businesses” routinely embedded
in their talk with customers.
The Results
Very quickly, the social ecology
approach began helping to
clarify the issues in these
word-of-mouth networks.
Enhanced by the governor,
the new knowledge that there
were indeed “jobs and business
opportunities” at DIA replaced
the myths and rumors that
the formal (and expensive)
campaign could not penetrate.
Kent's team would go back
into the gathering places after
the governor’s visits to answer
questions, provide details
and see if the dialogue had
changed. This closing of the
communication loop was a
key part for the success of the
citizen engagement process. In
five short weeks, this informal
network and gathering place
campaign turned the election
from a sure five-point defeat
into a four-point win—a nine-
point change. Turnarounds in
community support happening
within a few short weeks
are almost unheard of with
infrastructure projects.
A Strategy for Success
Governor Romer had attended
165 breakfast sessions during
that five weeks. In honor of these
efforts, this social ecology process
is known as the “Oatmeal Circuit”
to this day and it was talked about
in the political circles of Colorado
for some time. After the vote,
Mayor Peña of Denver presented
Governor Romer with a box of
Quaker Oats to celebrate the
method.
The Oatmeal Circuit was
designed by JKA to assist
local citizens in empowering
themselves through participating
in the process of finding truth
and facts instead of being misled
by rumors and half-truths.
After all, the finding of truth
and facts is an essential part of a
community realizing its ability to
participate in projects that affect
them. Through information and
knowledge development made
possible by the governor’s visits,
community residents found that
there actually were opportunities
at the new airport that they could
take advantage of.
So who planted and propagated
the rumors and half-truths? It was
the work of outsiders who had
a corporate agenda that needed
to produce a vote against the
annexation for their own financial
gain. Had they prevailed in their
narrow interests, they would have
deprived the citizens of Adams
County of this great social and
economic opportunity. Also lost
would have been the opportunity
for the citizens, as well as the
governor, to learn how to better
engage and participate in important
projects that impact themselves and
their community. J
During the five weeks that Governor Romer
spent talking to the citizens of Adams County, he
frequented this café in northern Adams County
where planes from one of the new runways at
DIA would come close to overflying. In this
newspaper photo, Governor Romer can be seen
in a booth with several people standing around,
including Jim Kent. The governor was listening
intently to Mildred, a chicken and egg farmer
in the area who was concerned about the planes
flying overhead and making noise. She worried
that so much noise would cause her chickens to
stop laying eggs.
“Tell you what Mildred,” the governor responded
in the blink of an eye, “If you will consider
the benefits of a new airport, I will talk to our
College of Agriculture to see if they can breed
some chickens that are deaf.”
Everyone relaxed and had a good laugh. Just like
that, the governor had several more supporters.
Formal approaches to securing project approval
are increasingly encountering challenges and not
producing the desired results. The alternative
approach discussed in this story shows that it
can identify the obstacles and determine a better
path forward. That alternative approach, now
introduced to the IRWA as Social Ecology, uses
gathering places and informal networking as
two of its tools to help create productive citizen
engagement and successful projects.
Kevin Preister, Ph.D., is Executive Director
of the Center for Social Ecology and Public
Policy. He is Co-developer and JKA Director
for IRWA Course 225, Social Ecology:
Listening to Community. Visit www.csepp.us
or email kpreister@jkagroup.com,
