“They influence our lives more than a sitting President, yet no one seems to pay attention to them. Let’s change that.”
In July, Filipp Dmitriev (’25) founded the Pleasanton Echo, an online newspaper shedding light on the operations of Pleasanton’s local commissioners, appointed officials that assist and advise the City Council on specific projects.
Dmitriev has been interested in the local government for a long time. Ten months ago, he served as a commissioner on the Pleasanton Human Services Board. This board voices the needs of the city’s inhabitants, especially those disadvantaged economically and socially.
“I’m really honored to serve as a commissioner on the Pleasanton Human Services Board,” said Dmitriev. “Together, we advise the City Council on the human needs in our community. We provide feedback on city plans and allocate grants to nonprofits.”
As a commissioner, Dmitriev was fascinated by the interconnectedness and complexity of Pleasanton’s local government. He saw how a multitude of groups worked together to run the city.
“One thing that stood out the most for me was really the sheer amount of organizations that help our community and the Tri-Valley. It’s really quite amazing,” said Dmitriev.
Dmitriev started his nonprofit newspaper, the Pleasanton Echo, to increase community engagement in committee meetings and the local government. He publishes the newspaper on Substack, which provides a platform for small newsletters like the Echo.
“I write short summaries of local government meetings because it provides the community a really digestible format to understand what’s going on in our government,” said Dmitriev.
Running the newspaper takes a lot of time and effort. To gather information, Dmitriev attends committee meetings and reads through pages of agendas, notes, and supplementaries.
“I’ll watch recordings of them. Sometimes I go to them. I record the main points, and I summarize them in an easy-to-understand way for community members to process what’s going on,” said Dmitriev.
In his articles, Dmitriev defines key terminology that may seem like legal jargon to a new reader. Through his efforts, he hopes to make local government and its plans more accessible than ever.
“My hope for the future of the city is to see the community more engaged than ever and participate in the local government meetings,” said Dmitriev. “The city should always be led by the people.”
