Engaged Secretary of State
One might think that the office of Secretary of State is pretty bureaucratic, but an active Secretary can do interesting things. Here's a paragraph from the newsletter of Mark Ritchie, recently elected Secretary of State for Minnesota:
"Another official job of the Minnesota Secretary of State is encouraging civic engagement. Two weeks ago our office pulled together 60 of the more than 100 groups we've found that are working on civic education and civic engagement. The goal of the meeting was to help people meet each other and to start a conversation about how we could all begin working more closely together. It was a very high energy gathering -- with great ideas and lots of folks looking for partners and collaborators. We talked about creating a state civic education council, hosting an annual summit, adopting a unifying topic during the Sesquicentennial, and finding new ways to communicate and cooperate. We had everyone from disability advocacy leaders to a State Supreme Court Justice. There were teachers, students and school board members along with a number of lawyers, including the president and the executive director of the MN Bar Association. We'll meet again soon!"
Some faculty from the University of Minnesota participated in this meeting, and we're excited about the possibilities.