Friends,
Three Things this month:
One. Remember we have a municipal election!!
Please vote tomorrow, Tuesday, November 5th for Democrats Sue Sgambelluri and Ron Smith if you live in Districts 2 and 3, respectively. It’s unusual—and unfortunate—that for nine of eleven of us running for municipal positions, there is no election tomorrow. (I urged we have vote centers that could save money and still allow everyone in the city to vote, but alas the county election board declined.) So please those of you who live in Districts 2 and 3, do get out and vote, and let’s all tell our friends, and volunteer to help Sue and Ron get over the finish line. We have a lot of good work ahead of us!
Two. Remember that really important things are happening all around us, often swamped in the media by the craziness in DC. For example, did you see last week’s report that the gold-standard, national evaluations of reading and math skills (NAEP scores) showed Indiana among the 3 states in the nation with the biggest drop in reading scores? (See summary here) Is this connected to the fact that our state has been worst in the nation for supporting our public school teachers with salary increases? And that our state leaders seem always plotting to underfund and weaken traditional public schools? Where is the accountability for that!!?? Be ready for 2020 state elections, in addition to the momentous national ones…
Three. Help us plan our local future, as I’ll prepare to begin a second mayoral term on January 1, 2020. We’ll have five returning and four new city council members, a second term with Clerk Nicole Bolden, and four years of challenge in front of us. Please share your ideas and hopes for our next chapter together here. I’m very proud of all the work we’ve done together since 2016 to address housing affordability, jobs, the environment, our quality of life, public safety, infrastructure, and more. But we’re only just getting started, and I’m excited to hear your thoughts!
It is so good to be on a team together, to make our community and our country better. Let’s keep at it!!
Democratically yours,
John
Ps: Election Night, please join the Monroe County Democratic Party at our headquarters to celebrate the next terms of office for nine City Council members, the City Clerk, and your Mayor. Join us at 116 S. Madison St. starting at 6:30 p.m.!