Updated 4/10/2019
I believe the city has a strong role to play in promoting vibrant, resilient neighborhoods. That includes investing in infrastructure, fostering neighbor-to-neighbor connections, and partnering with neighborhood associations to address neighborhood needs.
As mayor, I'll proudly and actively serve as your "Neighbor-in-Chief", spearheading efforts to:
- Develop neighborhood affinity and pride through neighborhood-level activities like clean-ups and National Night Out events;
- Foster active Neighborhood Associations throughout Cedar Falls;
- Establish a Neighborhood Services Committee comprised of Neighborhood Association presidents to address issues of mutual concern and share best practices
- Regularly post neighborhood-relevant information through the city's Nextdoor account.
Neighborhoods are a key building block of a community; the City is currently engaging in a code modernization effort to help build the kind of community that fosters healthy neighbor relationships...I fully support that effort, as I've described elsewhere. And while the city government certainly shouldn't be putting on neighborhood block parties, it also should avoid placing obstacles in the way of neighbor-driven efforts (like charging a fee for barricades to close off a street for a block party). The mayor should be actively seeking ways to help foster active, healthy neighborhoods with the support of the City Council. And finding ways to spotlight neighborhood success stories -- because (as I learned in the military) what gets celebrated gets repeated.
I'm a neighborhoods guy...I've spent the last few years working to map and name our neighborhoods; I've also been a moderator and community lead on Nextdoor.com for the past five years. I've seen how neighbors can help neighbors in the 2016 floods...in clearing fire hydrants after heavy snow....in welcoming a new family down the street...and myriad other actions both large and small. That's the Cedar Falls I want to live in, and I hope it's the one you want to live in, too. If so, I hope you'll elect me as your Neighbor-in-Chief this November.