Like Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, Mayor George Flaggs Jr. is taking his case to the people.

History records that in times of trouble, when they wanted to rally support, our nation’s chief executives have gone to the people to rally them to their cause and influence Congress. For both Roosevelts, it was to get reform bills passed that either made life safer, or start to overcome the effects of the Great Depression. Wilson pushed his 14 points for the peace treaty after World War I, and Truman went to the public to get re-elected in 1948.

The mayor’s reason for a series of five community meetings that begins Thursday in Kings is not to push an agenda. He wants ideas from residents about moving the city ahead as he and the board enters its third year in office.

“I want to find out how you (residents) want the city to work for you,” he said when he announced the series of monthly meetings June 15. “I’m going to take all the questions and all the answers as related to what you want me to do as mayor of this city to move the city forward for the next two years.

“I will take any questions on any position I’ve taken in the past,” he said. “I just believe in transparency. If the people want me to set the city of Vicksburg on top of the Mississippi River, I’m going to try and do my best. All I have is my desire to make Vicksburg the best city it can be. I’m going to leave it better than I found it.”

The meetings are the most recent in a series of public meetings Flaggs has held since taking office in 2013.

In January, he met with residents at the City Hall Annex in a live televised meeting to discuss his plans for the city and take questions about city operations. In April, he held a public meeting on the proposed sports complex for the city in which the city’s Fisher Ferry property was discussed as a possible site for the complex.

On May 21, Flaggs discussed his plans to amend the city charter and June 8 opened a city work session to the public for the board’s discussion on the charter.

It takes a lot of gumption for a public official to stand in front of the public and bare his soul, so to speak, and take on all comers. It’s something the mayor seems to have no qualms about doing, and the reason this time is an interesting one.

When was the last time the mayor of the city of Vicksburg went to the public and asked, “What would you like to see your government do? What are your recommendations?”

It’s an interesting approach to government and a dangerous one.

Public meetings can, and sometimes do, erupt into gripe and name-calling sessions where nothing of substance is discussed or decided.

Flaggs’ public meetings in the past have been marked by polite and interested audiences, intelligent, for the most part, comments, and informative.

Hopefully, these next five meetings will follow the tone of the previous gatherings and produce some useful and intelligent suggestions the mayor can take to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.