What do you need to have a better life? We want to hear from you | Cheryl Powell

Political season is upon us, and it looks like we're in for another wild ride.

But what if YOU could be in the driver's seat − not the politicians, the pundits or even the media?

The Akron Beacon Journal/BeaconJournal.com has joined with Signal Akron , Ideastream Public Media and Fighting to Understand , a Northeast Ohio nonprofit with experience designing and holding difficult conversations, to launch a community engagement project called We Can Disagree!

The project, which began last week, uses an app called Polis to foster community conversation and find common ground.

Polis, which can be accessed from your cellphone or computer, regularly poses a new question to get the conversation started. The current question is: "What is needed to help people have a better life?"

You can anonymously vote on the ideas proposed by others, as well as share your own answers. We'll see where Greater Akron residents agree — and where they agree to disagree.

Retired Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Doug Oplinger, a longtime colleague of mine at the Beacon Journal, is spearheading the partnership. The Akron Bar Foundation and Akron Community Foundation are funding the project.

When I became executive editor several months ago , I pledged to ensure the Beacon Journal is telling stories that are important to all segments of our community.

We plan to use these conversations as a source to help inform our election coverage plans and the questions we ask, particularly during this all-important presidential race.

Rather than let politicians steer the conversation this campaign season, we want to focus on the issues that matter most to you.

In the first few days since the program launched, nearly 150 Akron-area residents have joined the conversation.

While there is undeniably disagreement among the participants, those across the political spectrum so far have largely agreed that we need:

• Leaders who we can trust to address complicated issues for all of us rather than divide us.
• More people talking to one another, face to face.
• To work for peace in our homes, our community, our schools, our country, and certainly with the world community.
• Discussion of political positions without devolving into insults and attacks.

What do you think? Go to https://pol.is/6mhvipxs2z and let us know.

More details about reader engagement and election coverage

The We Can Disagree! partnership is just one of several steps the Beacon Journal is taking to make sure we are telling the stories that matter to residents in the region.

As she shared in a recent column , Theresa Bennett is moving into the new role of opinion and community engagement editor, a position I created shortly after I became executive editor to help us better connect with our audience. She brings a lot of enthusiasm to the position and has great ideas to make sure we're including a broader diversity of experiences and viewpoints moving forward.

Share you ideas with Theresa at tbennett@gannett.com. She'd love to hear from you.

You'll also see some changes to our election coverage this year, starting with a first-time voter series by reporters Stephanie Warsmith and Alisson Toro-Lagos. This week, Stephanie and Alisson will introduce you to six diverse community members who will be voting in their first presidential election. We'll follow them through the entire process, sharing what they think and learn.

Along the way, we'll answer their questions and give you a chance to ask your own questions for us to answer.

Watch BeaconJournal.com and the print edition of the Beacon Journal in the coming weeks for more details.

Yes, it's going to be a wild ride — but we'll be there to help you navigate the journey.

Cheryl Powell is executive editor of the Akron Beacon Journal/BeaconJournal.com. She can be reached at cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3902 .

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: What do you need to have a better life? We want to hear from you | Cheryl Powell