Locals Starting A Nonpartisan Group In A Divided Nation Making a Nonpartisan Group in a Divided Nation

Dana Balter's new civic engagement group attempts to break down these barriers.

Owen Valentine: The nonpartisan group is called Enter the Public Square. Balter says the focus is not on taking sides, but rather preparing citizens for political involvement.

Dana Balter: What we are focused on is making sure that all the members of our communities have the skills that they need to be civically engaged.

Owen Valentine: Balter thinks one of those skills is becoming a more proactive citizen.

Dana Balter: So that we move it away from the idea that it has to be a reaction to something, and into the idea that it is the way we as members of democracy should live.

Owen Valentine: This was only the group’s first meeting, but Balter hopes their program can spread nationwide. Owen Valentine, N-C-C News.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Sunday marked the launch of a new civic engagement organization led by former Congressional candidate Dana Balter. The group is called Enter the Public Square and proclaims to be nonpartisan, however many in the organization were involved in Balter’s Democratic campaign.

Balter acknowledged the difficulties in bringing together people among all parts of the political spectrum. From the beginning, she has had concerns about reaching more Conservative individuals.However she  said seeing new faces in attendance is a good sign for the groups’ immediate outreach and gave everyone in the room a piece of advice.

“One of the best things that you can do as a participant is bring someone who disagrees with you,” Balter said. “Politics is about all of us coming together in a room like this to figure out what challenges we face as a community and how we’re going to solve them.”

The non-profit organization started late  last year and members are  still working on funding. They plan to hold frequent meetings in the Central New York Community.

Balter said she the inclusion of  all political views is paramount to the organization and she hopes this group is one where all can feel welcome. 

“We are not focused on elections and candidates,” Balter said. “We are not supporting people running for office. As an organization, we are not taking positions on issues and advocating for them.”

The  150 attendees seemed to be confident in the rapid impact of the group and some expressed their excitement for the nonpartisan efforts.

“I can’t be [nonpartisan] all the time, but these activities can be,” said Nancy Brisson, a political blog writer from Syracuse. “Sometimes I relate better to a little partisanship, but this is something I think can be productive.”

Balter said the group will announce more meetings soon. She anticipates its next event will be a town hall-style meeting to hear some societal problems that Central New Yorkers see within their communities.

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Owen Valentine

Owen Valentine is a Central New York native, graduating from Liverpool High School in 2017. He is a sophomore Broadcast and Digital Journalism and Policy Studies major at Syracuse University. Owen also works at WAER in the sports and talk departments and as an analyst at CitrusTV.

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