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Health & Fitness

Elect A Council With Real Diversity

Make sure you elect candidates from different professions, times of living in the city, and stages of life to maximize diversity of opinion on our council.

On a seven person council, diversity is important. I'm not talking about diversity in the traditional sense, based on race, gender, or sexual orientation. With seven seats on the council, we need diversity of perspective. That means when you vote for your city council next Tuesday, make sure you vote for candidates that have diverse viewpoints. This will maximize deliberations on the council, make sure we go cautiously, and increase the chances that the views of the city council represent the city of a whole and not just a powerful subset.

But, with many of the candidates occupying the same space on local issues, what details should voters look at before heading into the voting booth to maximize c they elect a city council that will debate rather than just rubber stamp what comes through?

Firstly, look for diversity of profession. Many of the candidates running have experience in the financial sector. That sounds attractive but, with an accountant in place as our mayor, and a city manager handling much of the details of our finances. Keep in mind that we should be limiting the amount of our surpluses, so we shouldn't have a large amount of cash that needs investing nor should we be buying property or issuing bonds. Therefore, how important would much more additional experience in that sector be on the city council?

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The role of the city councilmen is much more of a customer service position. This is a small organization that should be directly serving the people that elected them. We need councilmen that know how to relate to people, find out what they want, and see how to deliver it. Let's make sure we elect some candidates that have owned or run their own their own business, candidates that have experience working with people, getting their input, and know how to integrate it into policy. If you want a council that really does value citizen input and communication, let's elect some people that have done it for a living.

Secondly, diversity of stage in life is very important. This is more relevant than electing people with different ages. Peachtree Corners has an aging demographic, so it makes plenty of sense that this segment would be well-represented on our city council. But we also need representation from other segments of the population, candidates with families currently attending our schools, as well as candidates just starting out their families and careers.

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We need candidates that can speak to the need to build retirement communities, so that empty-nesters can downsize their homes but not have to move out of Peachtree Corners. We need candidates that have children in schools here, so they can speak for the quality of our schools, parks, and family entertainment.

But we also need candidates that are just starting out. With all the talk about how we are doing things for the future of Peachtree Corners, we should certainly have some representation from candidates that are going to be a part of it. There are five candidates in the race under 40, with either no children as of yet or very young children. These are the ones most likely to be affected by our - decisions, the ones that will be most affected by our zoning decisions, and the ones who face the long-term consequences of paying for the decisions we make. It is very important that we have at least one person on our council that can speak to their needs and interests.

Lastly, we also need diversity of residency. Some candidates have been here for a decade, some for several decades, and some their entire lives. Its very important that some candidates have a good sense of what Peachtree Corners was, and that all of us have a good sense of what Peachtree Corners is. But we also need some councilmen that have a good sense of how Peachtree Corners is seen from the outside, what attracted them here, and what we can do to keep bringing more investment to town.

While we all value our community, its easy to lose perspective from being here for many years, on what new residents are looking at when it comes to picking a place to live. While I moved here in part due to the great combination of safety, location, and value, there are many younger residents that we need to attract that don't think in those terms.The perception of communities outside the Perimeter being too far, too old, and too boring is very real among younger people. My wife and I hear it every day from our friends and co-workers when we discuss where we live.

For those that don't see this as an issue, realize that there are is a large percentage of current residents that will likely be looking to relocate in the next decade. We need elected officials that know how to promote this community among younger people, both currently in the Atlanta metro area and from out of state. These are the people we need to attract to replenish our schools, shop at our stores, buy our homes, and work in our offices. We need to do a better job of making sure that people of all places know that Peachtree Corners is also a great place to play and its important to have someone on our council that understands this issue and can speak to it. Having gone through this decision process recently myself, and with most of my friends and associates at or entering a similar stage of life, where safety and value start to trump proximity to bars and clubs, I can help put an identifiable face on this town among potential residents that will to make sure that the city of Peachtree Corners has a future as bright as its present.

So when you go to the voting booth next Tuesday, vote for a diverse group. Make sure you vote for candidates from different experiences, different professions, and different stages of life. Make sure our council is just that, one with seven diverse views from seven different points of view, to assure that we can maximize deliberation, hear different opinions, and that the decisions of our council speak for the entire city, both now and in the future.

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