Eric Liu urges 'power plus character' civic practice at Community Foundation event in Olympia

Eric Liu, cofounder and CEO of Citizen University, told an Olympia audience Tuesday night that revitalizing local democracy starts with ordinary people claiming civic power and pairing it with collective responsibility.

Speaking at a Community Foundation of South Puget Sound event at South Puget Sound Community College, Liu framed citizenship as “power plus character,” a formula he said captures the two-part work of civic life: learning where decision-making power sits and using that knowledge for the public good. “Power plus character equals citizenship,” Liu said, urging attendees to practice civic skills rather than treat civic life as abstract policy debate.

The Community Foundation’s president and CEO, Mindy Ruhly, opened the program with a land acknowledgement for the Stetchest band of the Squaxin Island Tribe and thanked sponsors including TVW, which recorded the event. The program included musical performances by Parfait Basile and a fireside conversation between Liu and Renee Radcliffe Sinclair, president of TVW.

Why it matters: Liu argued that structural reforms — better voting systems, transparency and institutional fixes — matter but are not sufficient without cultural change. “Upstream of structure is something called culture,” he said, defining culture as “our norms, our narratives, our habits” that determine whether communities tolerate problems such as housing unaffordability or substance use crises. He urged local, place-based action and previewed that the Foundation will announce a grant program to support civic engagement projects.

Practical tools and programs: Liu described a set of programs and exercises his organization and partners run to teach citizens how to engage across differences. He cited the Better Arguments Project and related initiatives such as Disagree Better, Living Room Conversations and Civic Saturdays as models that move people from performative disagreement to sustained exchange. He also described a ‘‘Power Walk’’ exercise — walking the neighborhood and asking why services or infrastructure are placed where they are — as a way to teach civic literacy and map local levers of influence.

On media and persuasion: In the audience Q&A, attendees asked how to find common ground amid siloed media. Liu recommended relationship-based outreach as a practical countermeasure: “People don’t trust media; they trust people they know,” he said, describing a “come on, Charlie” circuit-breaker — a trusted local interlocutor who can challenge misinformation in person.

On running for office and organizing: Liu encouraged would-be candidates and organizers to “receive before you transmit” — deep listening to where pain and priorities lie — and to build mutual-aid networks that can circulate resources and commitments across diverse groups. “We have to be educating each other about civics anew,” he said, describing Citizen University curricula on power and civic character.

On immigrant rights and rule-of-law concerns: An audience member described a recent local ICE detention of a long-standing resident. Liu called the case “disturbing” and urged local allies to read the facts, identify immigrant-rights groups and legal resources, and expand alliances beyond affected communities to defend due process. He also encouraged small, locally grounded conversations about rule-of-law concepts such as due process and habeas corpus.

What happened next: After the conversation and audience questions, Liu stayed to sign books; TVW recorded the event for on-demand viewing. The Community Foundation said it will announce a grant program in the coming weeks to support local civic engagement and bridging work.

Sources and attribution: Quotes and claims in this report come from on-stage remarks by Mindy Ruhly (Community Foundation of South Puget Sound), Eric Liu (Citizen University), Renee Radcliffe Sinclair (TVW) and the on-stage performer Parfait Basile; audience questions are summarized. No formal votes or policy decisions were taken at the event.