Diane Norris, Assistant Town Manager, Danvers
My appreciation of democracy, probably based on Peace Corps experience, led me to work bringing strong data driven decisions to public processes. My background is in math and science, not public administration. People need to have confidence in government – local, state or federal – to make it work. They will get that confidence if the processes we use every day in government are clear, well thought out and data based. It drives our staff crazy when I keep asking “What’s the data show?” when we are trying to make a decision. We all prefer to rely on anecdote or instinct. My husband and I joke every morning when I leave the house saying I’m off to make my little corner of the world safe for democracy.
