When I tell voters that I do not have a specific plan for changes to the charter I often get a question like, “Why run if you don’t want to change something?” In my case running is less a question of what to change and more a question of how we should go about the review.

I first became impassioned about the role of the Charter Review Commission when I attended a meeting of the LWVN on their charter review recommendations early in the signature drive. One recommendation was the abolishment of Area Councils. At that time we had the single Area Council in the Highlands but we were starting to see interest for forming others.

For me this was a sign that an important part of my local government was not understood by a group looking over the charter. While my Ward Alderman lived three doors down from me, it was the Area Council that was our link to the city government. The Area Council assumed the role of keeping us informed about what was going on in the city and the Highlands.

My running for this position is not to preserve the charter as written or make sure Area Councils survive. I am looking at my role as leading to deeper understanding of what we have now and how changes to the charter would affect the city and its residents.