This first post will be a bit long, as I’m going to try and summarize what my candidacy is about.
First things first – I am County over Party, no exceptions. This means that I don’t care what your party affiliation is, my first responsibility will be to the people of Fulton County. A good idea is a good idea, regardless of whether there is an (R) or a (D) or an (I) behind your name. The same is true with bad ideas, too.
I have spent the last 3+ years serving my community on the Union Township Advisory Board. This is where I learned how important involvement is in our communities, and how impactful decisions made by elected officials can be. I have been very proud of my time on the Advisory Board but feel that I can do more – this is why I decided to run for County Council. My goal, if elected, is to remain active in our Township level boards. You can’t know the needs of constituents of your District if you don’t get involved at the local level. How can you adequately represent them if you don’t know what’s going on?
Typically, candidates will get up to the podium and talk about all the things they are going to do if elected, but most of the time those are just empty words. It is truly impossible to know what kind of Councilman I will be, mostly due to the volatile nature of local government. I don’t mean that in a negative way, the simple fact of the matter is the smaller the local government, the more impactful EVERY situation can be. Local government can be very fluid, and new challenges can show up very unexpectedly. As a result, it is very difficult to say, “I’m going to change this, or I’m going to fix that.” I don’t like to make promises that I won’t be able to keep, especially where there are factors that I cannot control. So, here’s what I’m going to bring to the table:
• Decision making that takes District 1 constituents into consideration first and foremost, the money I am helping decide how to spend is THEIR money, not mine.
• I’m going to continue to bring integrity to the position, this means that there will be some people upset. If everybody agrees every time, then someone is not being honest. There will always be compromise, but this position is about doing right by the people of Liberty, Wayne, Union, Aubbee, and Richland Townships.
• I will always scrutinize spending – needed or not. No rubber stamps, budgets are too tight to blindly allocate money. Any new spending needs to be accompanied by offsetting cuts elsewhere.
• I am not in favor of raising property taxes or local income taxes. I would be in favor of a SLIGHT increase in sales taxes in our county, but only in the case where it was used to improve the economic outlook of our County or to fund any special projects that are burdens that shouldn’t be shouldered by Fulton County residents alone.
• Support economic development that does not divide the County. I know that not everyone is going to agree with everything that is done, but we need a thriving economy to survive. Concessions will need to be made every once in a while, but those concessions should never affect citizens adversely.
If this sounds like something you would like to see, then I would appreciate your support. I am not 100% certain that I will be doing any advertising in the form of political signs. Quite frankly, I hate them. I can’t think of anything more wasteful than a ton of signs littered throughout the County. If you are voting for someone based solely on their sign population, then you are voting for the wrong reason. I would challenge everyone, regardless of candidate or office, to engage the person asking you to display a sign in your yard. Is that candidate engaging you because they want to see what they can do for you, or do they just like your location? Ask questions.
I am running to help make this County better. It has given so much to me and my family, and I just want to give back. I’ve seen my kids grow up here and become successful young members of society in this County. My goal is to give them, and everyone else, a reason to call Fulton County home.