riends,
I'm sorry that this month’s message is a bit delayed: it’s been a rough couple of weeks. I lost my father, Richard Emerson Hamilton, on February 22nd, after a wonderful life of 93+ years. Dawn and I were at his side as he passed over peacefully. Two days later, our friends and colleagues Jim and Doris Sims lost their daughter Camisha, in hospice after cancer treatments ended. And a week later we lost a fellow City employee, Kevin Curran, in an automobile accident. That all stressed our wider family at home and at work, and I know we’ve all appreciated the expressions of support and care. Thank you all.
In the interim, we had the sixth State of the City of my administration, “Remember, Recover, Renew,” to outline where we’ve been during the wrenching 2020, and where we are headed. You can watch the event here.
With all this going on, let me just take a breath and emphasize two very positive things happening in Bloomington right now:
First, it’s good to have Democrats leading in Washington DC. The American Rescue Plan Act is incredibly important and helpful. It is predicted to reduce child poverty by half in our country. Think about that, and what that that means to millions of children and families. It also will bring very real dollars directly to our community, to let us invest in our future – each others’ future. And much more. Elections matter, and this past one mattered a great deal (including the Georgia run-offs). You can get details of what the Act means here.
Second, I was very pleased to announce last week that Don Griffin, Jr. will be joining our administration as Bloomington’s next Deputy Mayor. I’ve known Don for years, and I’m just totally jazzed about working together in the coming years on behalf of our community. Don brings fantastic energy and commitment to our whole community, experience throughout our city, neighborhood by neighborhood, as well as loads of civic leadership and engagement on issues of civil rights, economic equity, arts, education, and more. It’s a great new chapter he’ll help write, starting next month. You can read the press release announcing Don’s plans here.
The past weeks remind us how much we depend on each other and how connected we all are, now and in the future. I look forward to continuing the steady, challenging work of helping Bloomington and all our people make progress each day, each week, each year.
Thanks for all you do for each other and for Bloomington,
Democratically yours,
John
P.S. Please enjoy and honor Women’s History Month in March. Check out events here.