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When I read this, I almost fell off my chair laughing.... O Chuck0 you have no idea how weird it can get...
Back in the days when I was working for disabled organizations, and was getting some of the physical stuff ready for some meeting with city big wigs or other officialdom, I would occasionally get this feeling that I was working in a zoo. There were the droolers, and the stammerers, the deaf who talked too loud, the blind wondering around loose, powerchairs blasting into tables, odd ball attendants with tatoos and body piercings, weirdo friends, business suits, college professors, gawky grad students, and occasional small children from god knows where. And every so often the smell of marijuana would seem to be around somewhere that couldn't be located.
We would have our meeting, things would go oddly professional, if you just looked at the recorded notes, some issues would get solved, new issues would come up, people would promise to get on it, things moved along.
So, my unsolicited advice is just do it---start meeting with people who control power. Get your local city manager's office on the horn and set up a meeting and get busy working away at whatever local issue is important. It doesn't matter if its over parking, or a bad intersection, roach infested public day care, or some city service that is completely fucked up. Have the meeting, make officialdom face `the people'. They will get used to it---eventually. It's supposed to be a democracy, so make it one.
CG