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The Stump Speech
Good afternoon, and thank you for coming today.
As many of you know, Bloomington is my home town, and I have been actively engaged in political and social
justice issues in our community for over ten years. I started attending city
council meetings in 2001, was appointed to the Environmental Commission in
2004, and that same year began service on the citizen’s advisory committee
involved in transportation planning. This activism has helped shape my
vision for Bloomington’s future.
I see a Bloomington with vibrant, walkable neighborhoods where neighbors
know each other and work together on common projects. I see a Bloomington in
which local businesses and local food production thrive, where diverse
cultural and artistic work finds a venue, and our community gems such as the
Farmers Market and Lotus Festival flourish. I see a Bloomington where more
and more residents, regardless of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, or
income are involved in the decisions that affect their daily lives. I see a
Bloomington where we live our lives in a way that does not jeopardize the
ability of future generations to meet their needs, where we do not
contribute to global warming, and where our grandchildren can still enjoy
nature.
I am an idealist, but I have the real-life experience to know how to attain
these ideals in the long-run. And this leads me to the three key goals of my
campaign: increasing sustainability, reducing poverty, and advancing
collaboration.
Bloomington has already taken two essential steps in working toward
sustainability: formation of the Commission on Sustainability and adoption
of a resolution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Now is the time to
translate our intentions into action. I’ve been working with members of the
Sustainability Commission and the Environmental Commission on a plan to
involve all residents in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We also need to
address transportation issues in the context of sustainability. The City
Council will be crucial in this process, and I would be proud to join the
progressive Democrats already on board to help make the changes we need.
My second goal is reducing poverty. We have excellent social service
agencies in Bloomington, but we need to focus on reducing the number of
people who need assistance. As with so many social problems, we must go to
the root causes in order to find long-term solutions. To reduce poverty in
the long run, we need to focus on affordable housing, self-sufficiency
counseling, education, and increasing the number of living-wage jobs. In the
meantime, the city can facilitate more collaboration between social service
agencies to increase efficiency and share resources.
This leads me to my third goal: advancing collaboration. In order to meet
the challenges of creating a sustainable community and reducing poverty, we
will need to forge new collaborations between city government and non-profit
agencies, local businesses, township offices, the county, the schools, and
Indiana University. One collaborative effort already underway is the local
food kitchen which Middle Way House is developing in collaboration with
eight other community agencies. The city must support such efforts which
will have a long-term positive impact for Bloomington.
Increasing sustainability, reducing poverty, and advancing collaboration are
the core goals of my campaign for City Council. I have been talking with
local experts about these issues, and I’m also investigating what solutions
have worked for other cities. In addition, I want to hear more from you, my
future constituents, to hear what your issues are.
To find out more about my campaign, please visit my website:
www.PiedmontForCouncil.org, and feel free to take some of my handouts from
the table by the door to read and pass on to your friends.
I am seeking your support in this race for City Council. I
ask for your vote on November 6th, your participation in the campaign, and your
ideas for the 5th district and for Bloomington. Together, we can build a
stronger community for all. Thank you.
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