Elected Officials Want Your Opinion

You can dial for dollars, dial for hot talk, dial for the time and weather, dial for stock quotes, dial for the surf report, dial-a-prayer or dial for pizza (oops, let’s not go there).

And soon Thousand Oaks residents will be able to dial for democracy.

By the middle of this month, the city expects to begin a program called Public Opinion Tele-Registration. It will allow citizens to express their opinions on municipal issues simply by making a phone call.

After an issue is explained on the city’s cable network, TOTV, residents would be invited to vote by calling one number for Yea, another number for Nay.

The City Council voted unanimously to have GTE install the system as an experimental model for other communities who want to try it. Participation will be free for local callers and the tallies will be added to the city’s Web site and forwarded to city leaders.

We’re 100% in favor of everyone becoming more actively involved in their communities and governments. We salute Thousand Oaks for being the first to take this step to make that a little easier for the folks at home.

But just for the record, you don’t need Public Opinion Tele-Registration to share your opinion with your elected officials. They all have listed phone numbers and they appreciate hearing from you almost as much as they appreciate your vote.

So give ‘em a call. Give ‘em an earful. And happy election day.