Friends,
Happy New Year!! It’s a big year ahead, this 2020. Let us hope this third decade of our third millennium will bring progress, peace and justice.
In Bloomington, at noon on January 1st, our new city council, Clerk Bolden, and I took our oaths of office. In my inaugural speech (here) I shared pride in our past four years of progress and proposals to address some challenges ahead.
The first term began with 2016 – seeing the historic Obama Presidency conclude with dignity and hope. And the trauma of seeing America elect the most ill-suited and corrupt person to the Presidency in our history. We’ve all been dealing with that since.
Summarizing four years in Bloomington City Hall isn’t easy, but things I’m proud of include:
Making government more transparent, accountable, and innovative than ever
Supporting hundreds of long-term affordable homes, to chip away at a daunting problem
Supporting new jobs, at The Mill, at Cook, at Catalent, and dozens more employers
Activating the String of Pearls along the B-Line, from our sparkling new Switchyard Park to the Trades District and more
Empowering hundreds of city employees to innovate and deliver services better, from a re-engineered Sanitation Department, to newly equipped and staffed Police and Fire departments, to a revamped Housing Authority, to a modernized, forward-looking water utility, to the tripling of training budgets and the $15/hour minimum wage covering every city employee
Looking forward to term two, we have good momentum to continue in these and many other areas of focus. I highlighted two big challenges facing us head on, in Bloomington, and, frankly, around the world. They both derive from the climate emergency we are in.
First, we need to save the planet from calamitous climate change. We need a physical world in which we all can live, in Bloomington, and around the world.
Second, we need to create a society within that physical world that welcomes everyone, has a place for everyone, offers dignity and opportunity for everyone. That’s an economic challenge – jobs. That’s a social challenge – equity and fairness. That’s a moral challenge – really achieving an inclusive community where all belong.
It’s about the planet. And the people.
In my January 1st remarks, I proposed two new major steps to address these challenges:
A new Green Ribbon Panel of community leaders to come together around climate change and its challenges
A new Sustainability Fund created by a 0.5% increase in our local option income tax, to generate enough revenue for serious progress on the major challenges ahead, like public transportation, affordable housing, clean energy, efficient buildings, green jobs, and climate justice.
I hope you’ll check out details in the speech (here). And I hope you know none of this could have happened or will happen without your support. Dawn and I are so, so grateful for the friends and allies we have in our lives in Bloomington. Thank you.
And can I ask a favor in 2020? Please take time, sometime, to thank one or more of the 800+ employees of the City of Bloomington. They are a dedicated, hard-working bunch, and a word of appreciation for their public service can really make their day. Thanks, and onward to 2020!!
Democratically yours,
John
PS: Mark your calendar for Thursday, February 20th at 7pm for the State of the City event at the Buskirk Chumley. I hope you can join for a fun and informative evening about all things Bloomington!