| What
I Stand For ... My decision to run for office is
not about Mr. Hatcher, who is a fine man. Rather,
my decision is about a change of approach -- a more
"proactivist" approach to government. I
believe that local government has the potential to have
a profound positive effect on the quality of life we
cherish; it has an equally significant effect on taxes,
especially on long-time residents on fixed or limited
incomes.
I do not want to see
us mortgaging our fiscal future -- making it impossible
for today's citizens' children to live here -- by
digging holes so deep that two generations hence we're
still asking, " What were they
thinking?" Local government can clearly
define what we want in commercial development and then
aggressively go after it so that homeowners and farmers
carry less of the overall financial responsibility of
County government.
I believe local
government should take seriously its obligations to our
environment; we should not mortgage the environment of
the future.
I believe we have a
chance to reinvent our government. I think we
should listen more closely to citizens; that we should
not dismiss them, demean them, demoralize them and
behave as if we knew it all better. I believe
public hearings should be more than a sham. I
believe we should proactively share information -- with
brutal honesty -- with all citizens, helping them
understand the cost of choices we make. It is
about inclusion, not disenfranchisement.
I am not embarrassed
to be a businessperson. I am not embarrassed to
want to run the public sector in a more businesslike
manner, with thoughtful planning for the future and
stringent accountability for the present. I am not
embarrassed to borrow ideas from business or other
localities -- to import best practices and learn from
others' mistakes.
Similarly, I am not
embarrassed to be an environmentalist. I do not
believe that the principles of good business and the
concerns of environmental stewardship are mutually
exclusive.
I do not believe
that using your brain and using your heart are mutually
exclusive. I do not believe in either-or thinking. I choose to believe in
possibility: the possibility of fiscal
responsibility, environmental excellence, and the
inclusion of all in the governance process.
There is no reason
Powhatan should not be the best-run locality in the
region. Let me say it again: there is no
reason Powhatan cannot become the best run locality in
Central Virginia. It will take hard work,
teamwork, active listening, initiative, creativity, good
business principles, planning, accountability ... and
invited participation from all sectors. The future
demands more than just reacting. A status quo
approach to the mounting crisis of what's happening to
our home is not good enough. It is not good
enough!
Talk to me ...
598-2213
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