72 Hours: My Promise to Puyallup

Puyallup Voters,

As of tonight, there are 22 days until election day. It has been one of the honors of my life to stand before you as a candidate for the City Council in the place I have called home my entire life. There are so many aspects of running for office I have picked up on since I filed my candidacy last May; things like raising money, managing social media, seeking out endorsements, and experiencing novel levels of love and vitriol from every direction in this community. All of it has been unforgettable as a political newcomer. That said, my favorite part of it all is talking to voters at the doors. There is something so encouraging speaking face-to-face with my neighbors who often share the exact same frustrations as me, and finding ways to plan to solve those problems together.

One topic that keeps coming up at the doors over and over again is that this City Council is simply not responsive to the community it purports to represent. I agree, and that’s a large part of the reason I am running. How many times have I talked to folks, how many people have told me they have petitioned their leaders and to no avail, it’s shameful. Comments in public hearings and forums are routinely ignored in favor of a pre-existing partisan will. Outreach to council-members on a wide range of topics from large priorities to even the most minute issue, with no response from city leaders.

Municipal government is the lowest, yet one of the most important, levels of elected office that exists in this country. Those officerholders should therefore have an even greater burden to be accessible to their constituents. At the same time, those officials have the most impact on the daily life in your community and the conditions around the places where you live, work, and play. City Councilmembers have a burden to ensure the policies they create yield to the counsel and consent of the constituents they govern. This current council is failing to meet either burden.

So, here is my promise to you. As your Councilmember for District 1, I will follow a 72 hour policy to address any and all constituent concerns. That means if you reach out to the office of Jeff Bennett- I will personally research, consider, and address your issue- and start a conversation with you about it within three days. This is true for any issue, whether you’d like us to fix a pothole in front of your driveway or if you have a suggestion to redesign our entire road construction plan in the city of Puyallup, it deserves my attention and consideration- and we’ll talk about it. If you speak during public comment at a Council meeting, I won’t hide behind the dias but I will follow up with you personally. My office will have an open door and a seat for you. That’s your right as a resident of our city.

This is the current culture of accountability and transparency Puyallup is missing. I want to bring it back, and spread it far and wide across town. In a city government of career politicians and ideologues, one that seems to have endless money for new buildings and goodies for the corporate board behind the Fair, we have the resources to pay attention to the needs of everyday working folks.

I look forward to building a Puyallup that works for all of us, and being a champion of Puyallup families.