RMA Discusses The Practice of Democratic Citizenship: An Update and Prescriptions for the Future
By Fred Wu
At the Retired Men’s Association (RMA) of Greenwich’s meeting on Wednesday, June 29, David Weisbrod introduced the speaker, Stephen Heintz, and then interviewed him in a Q&A format. Stephen Heintz is President and CEO of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. He was appointed by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as one of three co-chairs of the National Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship in the 21st Century. The commission released its report “Our Common Purpose” in June 2020.
Mr. Heintz described how he had become fascinated with politics at an early age, ran for office at age 22 and lost, but then worked his way up from local government to become chief of staff for Connecticut senate majority leader, Joe Lieberman. He then served in two Connecticut cabinet positions under Governors Grasso and O’Neill. Later he moved to Eastern Europe for years and then returned to the U.S. in 2000 to help found the liberal think tank, Demos. Shortly thereafter he was appointed president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Mr. Heintz outlined key recommendations of the “Our Common Purpose” study, in which he was deeply involved. These included such proposals as enlarging the House of Representatives, setting term limits for Supreme Court justices, and introducing ranked-choice voting. Other recommendations addressed civic engagement by the public, such as funding community level organizations and institutions to undertake projects for the common good, introducing publicly funded social media channels (similar to PBS or NPR), and implementing a mandatory year of national service for all young people. In all there are 31 recommendations included in the report. He also mentioned proposals that were discussed but not agreed to by a majority of the commission, including whether to eliminate the Electoral College and whether to end the filibuster rule in Congress.
A lively Q&A followed the talk, raising such questions as how to address misinformation in the media, gerrymandering, a law requiring everyone to vote, and investment in fossil fuels. For those interested in viewing the full presentation, go to the RMA website and click on the video at https://vimeo.com/user9053619/videos.
The RMA’s next presentation will be by Dr. Joseph W. Polisi, long tern president of the Juilliard School. This presentation will focus on the origins and history of this Lincoln Center as detailed in his just published book, A Beacon to the World: A History of Lincoln Center. He will speak on the founding, artistic choices, politics, and finances of Lincoln Center that now encompasses over 30 indoor and outdoor facilities on a 16 acre campus. This presentation will occur on July 13 at 11:00 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Greenwich as well as on webinar at: https://bit.ly/30lBj21
RMA speaker presentations are presented as a community service at no cost to in-person or Zoom attendees. The RMA does request that all eligible individuals consider becoming a member of our great organization, and thereby enjoy all the available fellowship, volunteer and community service opportunities that the RMA offers to its members. For further information, visit www.greenwichrma.org or contact Joe Mancinelli (mailto:jlmanc@optonline.net) or Peter Stern (mailto:members@greenwichrma.org).
