Last night I went to the first ever Garden City Town Hall meeting. I was mesmerized. Ok and a little bored at first. No lie they had this man who is a long winded pastor and the head of the Garden City Homestead Association go on and on and on about how he would like Council to give him funds yada yada yada.(aint't gonna happen).... ok then it got good. They opened the floor for people to air their grievances and to talk about (mostly that they wanted the GC government to give them a handout) what was most dear to their hearts. I saw the council and the city manager working together to resolve these peoples issues. They shared and mirrored my love for the city and it's residents, Even the dude who wanted us to start paying property tax so that we could offer programs to help him fix up his house (makes NO sense I know).
Last night cemented my burning desire to run for city council. I will blog all the way about whats going on and give you an insiders view of a novice's journey into the government. I probably will only make it as far as the door, but either way it will be a memory.
If you know of any reading material to help me learn more about the campaign process, or would like to help in the way of volunteering or donations please let me know... or if you just have platform advice. I'll take all the help I can get.
5 comments:
That should be an interesting experience. I look forward to reading more about it.
I'd love to hear more about your concerns for the city.
-Alan
Thanks Alan.
I have a few concerns for my city, namely as in anything in life they boil down to heart issues. I think that the city's problems aren't unique to the rest of the country in that people are increasingly isolated. We don't know our neighbors we don't know the little boy down the street, we don't know what the basic needs are of the people on our block. When we live so isolated we find crime rates increase and poverty climbs. Also I'm finding that residents knee jerk reaction to these problems is to look for a hand out from the goverement. So I would like to try and get the communitys to get together and try and help themselves out. Plus I think that if I can make it on city council that it can be inspirational for the younger residence. If I can get involved they can too. Also as a homeschool mom I have a active intrest in keeping the our city a homeschool friendly city. I know they aren't life changing but it's honest
Jessica,
Have you read Beyond Charity by John M. Perkins? If not, I would recommend it. Also, in a somewhat similar vein, you might want to read To Transform a City by Eric Swanson and Sam Williams. It's a new book, but I think Perkins' book is better. I've written about both of them on my blog, if you want to search for them (sorry, I don't have the links).
-Alan
Just wondering how it's going? Looking forward to hearing the details of your adventure!
@Alan... Thanks for the book recommendations, right I'm reading three books on how to win an election. I will def add them to my list. Thanks!
@Norma, right now I'm waiting to see if I need my gallbladder removed, but I am slowly acquiring clothes that I can campiagn in. (gotta love thrift shops) I've also gotten in touch with a man who ran (and won) a city council seat when he was 24 and became mayor at 28. His mother is currently on Council now so he isn't able to help much but I'll take any I can get :)
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