Potholes, Parks, and Politics

Every citizen deserves to be heard. This book will show how to use your voice productively.

It gives easy-to-understand guidance for anyone who wants to see change happen in their community. Based on real-life experience as activists and elected officials, the authors explain the most effective strategies for making progress on local issues that matter to the reader.

Whether you seek better roads, a new park, or a particular approach to housing, the tools and techniques in this guidebook will help you analyze your issue, develop your case statement, identify and work with stakeholders, and engage constructively with city staff and elected officials.

The book includes a "toolbox" section with samples and guidance, from a problem analysis worksheet to a case statement, to correspondence with elected officials and social media posts. It is aimed at ordinary citizens trying to understand local government and make something happen in their community.

Dr. Lisa Shaffer has had a 47-year career thinking and acting globally and locally. She started her career at NASA and NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) focused on international environmental programs, and five years in marketing and strategic planning at an aerospace company. In 1998, Shaffer joined Scripps Institution of Oceanography, as Director of International Relations and Policy Programs, before becoming the executive director of the UC San Diego Sustainability Solutions Institute. She taught ethics, environmental strategy, and corporate social responsibility at UCSD. Lisa was elected to the Encinitas City Council on an ethics platform and served from 2012-2016. In 2020, Dr. Shaffer published a book, Potholes, Parks, and Politics: a guide to getting things done locally (without having to run for office yourself). Lisa has held positions on many non-profit boards and volunteers with a number of local organizations. She earned her B.A. in political science from the University of Michigan, her Ph.D. in public policy from the George Washington University, and an MBA from UCSD. Currently, having failed at retirement, she teaches "Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility" on a part-time basis at UCSD and serves as the coordinator of the Encinitas Environmental Education Collaborative, a coalition of seven local non-profit/governmental organizations. Lisa and her husband, Steve Bartram, have four adult daughters, two grand horses, four grand dogs, and at least one grand cat, but alas, no grandchildren.