I’ve been asked, “Why did you decide to run?” by almost everybody who I’ve asked to sign my petition or that I’ve talked about this position since deciding to run.

That is a good question to ask, and it’s  different from, “Why are you running for city council?”  (I’m going to be answering that question more in later posts and hopefully with you face to face.)

At first, there were a couple of pretty simple reasons that motivated me to start thinking about it seriously.

I’ve been attending a twice a month meeting called Dexter Forum, and it appeared that it was pretty common for three people to run for three openings.  There should always be some sort of choice in an election, right?

Most of the people currently serving on the City Council have been there for a long time and have long ties to the community.  Now, I have no objections to what they have done; if they had been doing a poor job, I wouldn’t have bought our house here.  However, I think it is important for the City Council to represent the community as a whole, and there are a lot of people in Dexter like me who aren’t represented. I also feel strongly that a fresh set of eyes new to the community is helpful in seeing things from a new perspective.

There are a couple of very important changes that are coming to Dexter in the near future: development along Mill Creek, a new fire station, a new city hall, and the development of the Sloan properties south of town along Baker.  My experience as an urban planner could provide valuable insight to ensuring those projects are the most beneficial for Dexter and its residents.

Thank you for taking the time to read this; please check back soon to hear why I am running for Dexter City Council.