I’m asking the voters of Lakewood to send me to City Hall to represent them on council. But I also believe that an equally important part of a council member’s job is spending time outside City Hall, in the community. Citizens shouldn’t have to pay council members, and do all the work of going to council on its schedule, just to speak for a few minutes.
The people’s representatives should be accessible throughout the community, for direct two-way dialogue.
That’s what I have been doing this year as a candidate. It’s what I will continue to do if I’m elected to City Council at-large.
It’s what I am continuing to do now, in fact. In June and July, my campaign held four Town Halls meetings, and I’m committed to continuing these. Meanwhile I have also held more public events each month. Nearly all these events have met the Town Hall Project’s five criteria of 1) free, 2) open to the public, 3) open questions, 4) an in-person appearance, and 5) sticking around for the whole event. (I took a couple of breaks during the Community Festival, and two candidate forums sponsored by other organizations screened questions in advance.)