Hi Professor and Class!
Agenda setting is the first stage, and the hardest, in the process of policymaking process (Cobb, 2020). It is normally difficult to get a subject put onto the agenda, but the Corona Virus, known as COVID-19, had no issues becoming the one and only topic for this meeting.
COVID-19 has dominated all aspects of life for weeks now. Why wouldn’t it take over an agenda-setting meeting? In the town of Oconee, GA, the Board of Commissioners met, but sat all around the room, 6 feet apart, to continue the social distancing order (Becker, 2020). COVID-19 was the only option for discussion since is the current topic of all recent conversations. Commission Chair John Daniell praised the citizens that were listening to the heed of social distancing, while criticizing the citizens not complying.
This meeting was successful in talking about the COVID outbreak, the response of the community, updating the public on the “numbers”, and continuing to warn of the seriousness of the warning. I can see how this disruption can be a distraction to the way a usual agenda-setting meeting would take place. Members sitting across the room, not in their regular seats, some standing in the hallway. This could have resulted in a stressful event.
Becker, L., April 3, 2020. Patch.com. COVID-19 Dominated Oconee Commission Agenda-Setting Meeting. Retrieved from https://patch.com/georgia/oconee/covid-19-dominated-oconee-commission-agenda-setting-meeting (Links to an external site.)
Cobb, W. N. 2020. Political Science Today. Political Science Today. Comparative Politics. California: Sage Publications, Inc.