Friends,
Lately we’ve had busy times at City Hall. We won a unanimous City Council vote supporting our 2022 budget, which includes major investments to address climate change, inclusion and equity, as well as enhancing public safety.
Thanks again to our friends in DC – President Biden, VP Harris, and the Democrats of Congress: their American Rescue Plan Act has been transformative for us.
This week, we also announced a first-in-the-nation alliance: we’re becoming a “Sibling City” with Palo Alto, California. You’ve likely heard of Sister Cities – pairings of international cities that exchange ideas, cultural outreach, commercial opportunities and the like. (Bloomington has two such: Santa Clara, Cuba; and Posoltega, Nicaragua).
This Sibling City is a new take on that idea. With so much divisiveness and disinformation, so much mistrust and dysfunction in the national scene, how about cities from the coast and the heartland helping knit our country back together?
I want to thank Vicki Veenker for bringing this idea to the fore. She’s a brilliant, progressive lawyer and mediator, with political instincts in tune with the time. Vicki proposed this domestic Sibling City idea, and Palo Alto and Bloomington are the first pairing to step up.
It’s exciting to connect closely with the birthplace of Silicon Valley, the home of Stanford University, a thriving center of the new economy. I think it offers exciting opportunities for commerce, and cultural exchange, and civic learning. You can get details about the idea here.
It speaks well of Bloomington that our community has stepped up to explore this – with potential education exchanges, or shared technology ventures, or civic approaches to problems like affordable housing or climate change.
I’ve offered to trade mayor responsibilities for a day – Mayor Dubois can experience how we roll, and I can see how they do things in the San Francisco metropolitan area. We may exchange delegation visits as soon as early next year (assuming COVID allows it).
Perhaps you’ll consider getting involved. This southern Indiana small city in a rural region connected with an innovation hub in one of the world’s great metropolitan areas in the state with a larger economy than all but 4 countries – fascinating opportunities!
Thanks also to Karen Howe Fernandez, who has stepped up to be the local coordinator for our efforts in the Sibling City world. Get in touch with her if you’re keen on finding out more or volunteering to get involved. More information available here.
We’ll be asking City Council to adopt a Sibling City resolution and forming a local steering committee in the weeks ahead. Consider joining up!
Democratically yours,
John
P.S. November brings us both Veterans Day and Thanksgiving — two national holidays that remind us to show gratitude and give thanks, and to remember those who gave their all for this country. A good way to close out a year and remember the important things in life. I hope the holidays are safe and warm for you and your family.