What is a White Paper?
A White Paper is a type of position paper used to introduce a Councilor’s view of an issue to the full City Councilor. It is designed to trigger a motion for future action by the City Staff. Future actions could be to create new Ordinances, modify existing Ordinances, create Resolutions, issue Requests for Proposals (RFP), prioritize issues for our lobbyist, or to include items in Budget discussions. There are other reasons for issuing White Papers, but these give you a sense of the scope of uses. I’ve introduced White Papers in City Council Meetings for all of the aforementioned uses.
By writing White Papers and discussing them during City Council Meetings, Councilors show voters where they stand on issues. They also make themselves vulnerable by opening themselves up for public scrutiny and criticism in the open forum of a City Council meeting. This is exactly why I love writing them. I want voters to know where I stand on issues. I don’t ever want to be accused of having hidden agendas. The more I express my ideas in writing, present them in the open sunshine, and stand for public criticism and debate, the more voters can judge my knowledge, ideas, values, and commitment to making Marco Island a better place to live.
I’m a writer. I’ve written several textbooks, self-help books, and photography books. I love to write, so writing White Papers is a joy. It is one of the most enjoyable parts of my job and I admit that I can get carried away sometimes. If you’ve been watching City Council Meetings over the years you’ve probably noticed what some former City Councilors have submitted as “White Papers.” Some have been illegible chicken-scratches with typos, grammatical errors, and stylistic errors that would make a High School English teacher cringe.
My White Papers are thoroughly researched, referenced, and run through grammar and spell-check programs before being submitted. I pride myself on the quality and number of White Papers I have written since taking office in 2020. If you scroll through my Re-Election Platform Priorities pages you will see links to my White Papers.
Please click on the links that interest you and let me know what you think about them. Thanks for taking the time to read this post.
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