Newsletter

Dear Folks,

This week’s city news:

The Council voted to put on the ballot a smoking ordinance that is more equitable than the one brought to them this week by a special interest group. During the campaign Funk stated that he wanted to honor the previous council’s rule of 85%. But when it became clear that a smoking ordinance was inevitable, Funk, and a majority of the council, felt they should move forward by crafting the best possible ballot measure on behalf of the city. Councilman Russ Johnson made a good argument that the city should prohibit smoking in places that allow children.

Funk continues to meet with people regarding regional light rail. He is making much headway in getting mayors and commissioners on both sides of State Line enthusiastic about the topic. When Funk was in Seattle, he learned that there are two things that lift a community to cosmopolitan status: an excellent regional transit system and an excellent higher education system. The Mayor is working to bring about changes on both of these fronts.

Since the neighborhoods are also of Funk’s highest concern, he continues to meet with neighborhood leaders on a weekly basis, and not just the usual suspects. He is constantly meeting leaders who have been fighting the good fight for a long time, yet have not been recognized by the larger community. These people have innovative ideas that the Mayor is trying to incorporate, especially when it comes to lifting up the most disadvantaged areas of our city.

On a more personal note:

We read an excellent quote by prospective First Lady Michelle Obama that hit home with us this week. She said that her husband was going all out at becoming President this time because running for office is very difficult. She goes on to state, “It hasn’t beaten the life out of us yet. We need to be in there now, while we’re still fresh and open and fearless and bold. You lose some of that over time. Barack is not cautious yet; he’s ready to change the world, and we need that.” This message spoke to us in many ways. The first being that this couple is definitely in this together, as evidenced by her speaking the word “we” quite frequently. It also speaks to how I perceive Funk, as he too is fresh, open, fearless and bold. It takes these traits when one is trying to change the culture of government for the better.

In faith,
Gloria & Mark