Alyssa Porter, a former candidate for the Jamestown City Council, is calling for more community involvement in local government.

Democrats will have only one seat on the Jamestown City Council, but that doesn’t mean Democrats shouldn’t try to be more involved in city government.

Alyssa Porter, city Democratic Party chairwoman who ran as an at-large candidate in the November election, is calling for city residents to take up the call of civic duty and good citizenship, by getting involved in local city and county politics.

“This isn’t a call for dissension by any means,” Porter said. “It’s the exact opposite. We didn’t win, but that doesn’t mean we should sit by and not be involved in our government, and it’s incumbent on everyone to be involved.”

Porter issued her call on her campaign’s Facebook page recently as a way to increase attendance at City Council meetings. Most meetings are attended by council members, department heads, the mayor, one or two concerned citizens and members of the media.

“This is about education and more transparency in our local government,” she said. “We all need to work together; I believe in this city, and I believe in a better future for Jamestown. I believe in the potential of collaboration and unity is an achievable goal.”

Moreover, not all city residents are so sure that collaboration is the key to turning things around locally, or even a smooth running government.

“The ‘left’ is too liberal and the ‘right’ is to conservative,” said Anthony Rinaldi, a Jamestown resident and local Democrat. “I’m not sure how much they (City Council) are willing to really listen.”

Potter said she is, by her nature, a positive person and looks at the glass as half-full as compared to half-empty.

“I truly believe we can make our city a better place, but it starts with civic engagement,” she said. “I would even love Jamestown High School students who’d like to learn more or become more involved in government to reach out to me, and I’ll help them find the City Council chambers, work their way around city hall. It’s all about education and involvement.”