Valley Citizens League

On Thursday I attended a luncheon sponsored by Valley Citizens League. The league is a non-partisan organization that facilitates a healthy discourse regarding the issues and politics facing Arizona.  During lunch we listened to a panel discuss the role of social media in politics, particularly as it regards the current election cycle.  The panel consisted of Dennis Welch from The Arizona Guardian, Doug MacEachern of The Arizona Republic, Donna Gratehouse author of the Democratic Diva Blog, and David Lebowitz.  Listening to the panel discussion I felt like I was experiencing a live episode of one of the local political talk shows like Horizon or Sunday Square Off.  Generally, it was great to  be in a room of Intergovernmental Directors from Cities and interest groups, representatives from the media, and Republican and Democratic elected officials having an interesting conversation about social media and politics.  It provided a welcoming contrast to the negativity inundating this election cycle.