‘This something that could work’: can civic assemblies put the people back into politics?

US cities are turning to randomly selected residents to help resolve divisive policy debates A Los Angeles software engineer, Hunter Futo, recalled being “disaffected and apolitical” for years but experienced an about-face recently: now, she’s leading resident debates, helping guide local governance reforms and even pushing for more options for Angelenos to help create policy. For Futo, the turnaround happened in January, when she and a few other LA residents were randomly selected to lay out...

By Carey L Biron