Our Editorial Team

Chirag Kathrani

Founder, Open Governance Initiative

Hello, I'm Chirag Kathrani I want to share the reasons behind founding the Open Governance Initiative. It began when I was in the 2024 San Ramon Mayoral Race. I decided to run since I felt there was a serious problem as a council member, in his incomplete term, was running unopposed for a city of 85,000. A three-day extension was granted as the incumbent was not running again. When I researched meeting minutes, I was overwhelmed by the lack of a clear record of public comments or opinions. It was impossible to tell if people supported or opposed a specific agenda item. Due to the decline in local news coverage, how can I determine what any council member stands for? Long gone are the days when local media were critical because their revenue came from subscriptions. The decline has become increasingly visible.

I highly admire Nextdoor as a platform where local people genuinely engage and respond. Other than that most news media are focused on news where you cant really do anything, while the same preachers of democracy stay silent on issues where your voice really matters.

One of the key problems I see is that the local news business is heavily influenced by who donates and how much they donate to an organization.

This is why we have set a limit on how much anyone can contribute to the initiative. This ensures that no single person can have excessive influence. I've lost a few funding opportunities because of it, but I strongly believe that sustainability is possible with integrity at our core. I'm hopeful that we can all come together and move this forward.

I have a strong belief that "Democracy begins from within and is built on the principles of humanity!"

This is why we've focused this platform on the people who speak at these meetings. Their voices are getting lost, and this platform is dedicated to every member of the community who stands up and confronts their leaders directly. These are the voices this platform represents.

We highly encourage you to help us grow by creating an account, and select the City or School board that matters. We will make sure to update you on all important information that matters to you.

If you don’t see your organization feel free to setup a short call with me and I will work with you in getting the organization that matters to you onboard, and if you love to write we should connect even more. If by any chance you speak at the council meeting then your knowledge is highly essential.

If you would like to help us take this ahead I highly recommend you criticize us, we love and encourage criticism.