We are in the last two weeks of the 2024 Milton Town Council election campaign and I’m pausing to reflect on my last three years as secretary and eventually vice mayor of town council.
It has been challenging, but also invigorating.
As you know, town council positions are volunteer, not salaried. Not waged ... volunteer. You volunteer to serve the town because you love your hometown and you want it and your neighbors to thrive and be happy.
At the town level, we don’t have fundraising dinners and events like they do at the national level. It’s actually not about parties but about issues at this level. The expenses involved in the campaign are personally borne. We have meet-and-greet sessions and a candidates forum to express our ideologies. Hopefully, those values are universal and benefit as many people as possible.
There is a steep learning curve to get up to speed on the town charter, town code, the comprehensive plan, and the budget as a starting point. This time around, I am confident that I can hit the floor running and have an impact much sooner than after the last election.
One also needs to be able to listen, to do research, to cooperate and collaborate with the others on council. One lone vote can only do so much good, but four votes or more make progress. It makes sense to find common ground on which to build public policy! Sometimes we have to give a little to make those collaborations work for the greater whole.
I think it is also important to have a clear and compelling vision of the future and to be able to communicate it to the public and other council members. Leaders must be able to energize and invigorate their supporters and have a direction that builds upon that past and ensures continuing success. Without vision, without goals, progress is limited.
I am building my campaign around concerns that I hear from townspeople and also a vision for the future. Financial accountability, rampant growth, parking, flooding, but also resilience and better transportation. There are many concerns and much work to be done.
You have a choice … two positions and three candidates. Please take a few moments from your busy Saturday on March 2 to cast your vote! See you at the polls!
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