In June and July, our campaign hosted four open-ended community town halls. For the most part, Lakewood hasn’t seen anything like these in years.
I’m more convinced than ever that it’s time to change that.
Turnout has grown at each ward town hall (after making allowances for extra turnout in Ward 4 to see a very special guest). On July 29, dozens showed up for the Ward 2 town hall for no reason other than a conversation about our city. As I told everyone there, I want to keep this going. If I’m elected to city council, I will continue holding open town hall meetings.
We had a great conversation at this town hall, as at all of them. But it was also confirmation that committing to make this a regular thing pays off; the more you show people that you’re serious, the more willing they will be to share their time. (Which people definitely were. After we used up our reserved time at Harding School, the conversation continued outside for most of another hour!)
Finally, this town hall proved the importance of getting out into all parts of the community, even in a city as compact as Lakewood. A senior was able to attend the first town hall of her life because this one happened to be in walking distance of her home.
This is one reason why our campaign will be getting even more local in August, with neighborhood- and block-level events. The conversation continues. Let me know if I can bring it to your street!
