Now that the election craziness is over, we can return our focus to Erie — and address one of the more hopeful developments that is taking place there.

We’ve spoken some about the creation of the group Envision Erie — a community-led movement to create a plan to improve Erie’s quality of life and economy.

The group’s vision is closely aligned with the vision of this Web site. And I’m thrilled to see a coordinated effort among concerned citizens to bring change to the community.

Of course, the mere creation of the group on its own will not affect the type of change Erie needs. That will take a consistent, long-term effort — the type of effort that tends to fizzle out when the initial optimism of something new wears off.

But if this group can stick together and keep its eyes on the prize long term, it has the potential to do some great things.

I’d like to leave you with the group’s core principles — which were included in a recent e-mail sent to its members.

We believe that we can affect the future; that we can positively impact our lives and the lives of those who will come after us.

We invite the participation of caring, community-minded people from across the region to form partnerships and build bridges that span civic, geographic, cultural, generational, and organizational boundaries.

We listen to and respect the diverse perspectives and experiences of all.

We respect our history, celebrate our assets and resources, and build on what we have.

We encourage a civil, rational dialogue to deliberate on the issues we face.

We recognize that we are all in this together and that collaboration is a must!

We are committed to respecting an open and transparent process and creating an on-going mechanism for continuous informed input.

We believe in the tenacity, the resilience, and the goodness of Erie county’s citizens and we are hopeful in our view of the kind of future we can create together.

We will apply committed professional facilitation, coordination, technical assistance, research on best practices and innovative ideas, and sound information to decision making and policy making;
We think regionally and act locally.

We will seek common ground.

We are committed to taking action and making things happen.

We will identify our resources, compile quantitative and qualitative data, communicate our findings broadly, increase the capacity of citizens, and empower them to get involved and make a difference.

We will have fun and we will be grateful for all the changes we create!

This type of talk has been rare in Erie in the past. Let’s hope the community is open to taking part.