A New Year’s Resolution
Sometimes the creek is more beautiful in winter than at any other time.
One of my favorite aunts, may she rest in peace amid perfumed clouds of Cabochard, used to tell me that new year’s resolutions are to be made more than they are to be kept. Making them showed you had the awareness to admit there were some things that needed to be changed. Some people, she said, fearing failure, never made resolutions and therefore never challenged themselves. That’s a sure way not to disappoint, and a surer way to stay stuck in the same old life.
I resolve to try to keep this blog current.
My resolutions usually have “try” in them somewhere. They at least get me to put a mental filter on my actions, a “to do” item on the list.
Try to lose weight, try to exercise more, try to cut my chocolate use in half (that last one actually works, since I can still buy the stuff, just half as much.) Promises, on the other hand, are golden. They say “I will.”
So I may as well start this new year with reiterations of promises I have found easy to keep – I promise to be open and honest about everything I do, and everything I know about, in the operations of our city government. You ask me a question, I’ll tell you what I know and if I don’t have the answer I’ll search for it and tell you everything. No BS and no secrets. Governments don’t get to have privacy. People yes, governments no.
I resolve to listen to ALL my constituents, no matter what part of the political spectrum they represent, and faithfully to represent your interests when decisions are made. I won’t please everyone, ever. But I will listen. And if your position is well-considered I will take it into account. If it’s just a deck of reasons why you don’t want us to enforce a law that you are used to breaking, sorry, that won’t fly.
I resolve to work harder at helping to grow street clubs and block parties and things that tie neighbors together. We have a lot of community-building to do, starting with the neighborhoods. That does not, however, let city hall off the hook for taking care of our bank account and bringing businesses to town and helping to grow the ones that are here. Our problems aren’t all about vacant and foreclosed houses, they are also about vacant office space and crappy empty storefronts. This shouldn’t be a shell game where we blame our woes on the neighborhoods in hopes that people won’t notice that our commercial base is on life support.
Finally, I hope to hear some resolutions from you. And I hope that one is that you’ll get to know your neighbors better all up and down your block. That’s pretty easy.
Happy New Year!
Jane