Last time I focused on how important it was to have a particpatory government because our community is so resourceful. Some improvements were made: the town website was updated; there were more opportunities for interaction; we created a new commission and a study committee; the mayor and town manager each had their time in the media; we reminded departments about language needs in communications.

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Then March 13, 2020 was the day I had to leave my classroom just as it was and our lives as we knew it turned on its head. I was the first Council member to attend in video. I told anyone to hunker down and stay still. 

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First of all, I want all of us to be safe and secure. Our healthcare centers are to be complete; our community ought not go without basic needs.

 

Then I want to continue the work on inclusion and a diversified Town Hall and departments, commissions and committees; I want to pick up where we left off with our Plan of Conservation and Development; I want to institutionalize Project Labor Agreements and First Resource efforts in public projects; 

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I want to see established: our Civilian Review Board; a fortified committee to oversee tenant/landlord relationships; a robust Cultural Commission and a Latino Resource and Cultural Center; an education budget that has caught up with the rest of CT; and an acknowledgment from our Capitol that this part of the "quiet corner" will be heard (job entrepenurial and job development; improved public transportation; attention to healthcare facilities). 

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There is plenty to do.