Panel Event: Putting the Public Back in Policy

California is often seen as a national laboratory for democratic innovation. Yet despite decades of institutional reforms — from independent redistricting to open primaries — many Californians still feel disconnected from the political decisions that shape their lives. Persistent challenges around affordability, inequality, and governance have raised a fundamental question: Is our current political system equipped to translate public needs into effective policy?

This panel, co-hosted by the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy Alumni Association and ProRep Coalition, will explore how structural reforms to California’s electoral system could strengthen democratic representation and policymaking. In particular, the conversation will focus on state-level proportional representation (PR) — a system used by most advanced democracies worldwide — and how it could expand political competition, diversify representation, and better reflect the full spectrum of voter preferences.

The panel will also examine the role of deliberative democracy in shaping reform. Rather than top-down institutional change, emerging models emphasize large-scale public engagement — such as citizens’ assemblies and deliberative polling — to help communities learn about reform options and participate directly in designing them.

Join scholars, practitioners, and democracy reform leaders for a discussion about how California can move beyond the limitations of winner-take-all elections and build a more responsive, inclusive political system — one that truly puts the public back in policy.

This panel will feature:

Ted Lempert, Lecturer of California Politics at UC Berkeley and CEO of Children Now.

Caledon Myers, Founder and Executive Director of ProRep Coalition.

Thay Graciano, PhD Candidate at Stanford's Deliberative Democracy Lab.

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Host or Publisher ProRep Coalition