My Decision
I’ve heard from hundreds of you over the last couple of days. Beyond the many encouraging comments, I am most inspired by your vision for Denton and your willingness to work hard to accomplish it.
What has become most clear to me through this and over these last three years I’ve served on council: the creative class of Denton is emerging. They want a city that is smart, innovative, ambitious, and continually solving big problems. Having been reared politically through the abstract mess of national politics, they are discovering true democracy locally and becoming beautiful citizens with a love for their city. They are dissatisfied with the traditional role and scope of local government. Understanding that cities can and should be the incubators of innovation, they see government as one of the many essential platforms upon which people can be brought together to create great things and solve the toughest issues of our day.
As most of them are from elsewhere, they are frankly uninterested in hearing narratives about how far we’ve come. They want to know where we are heading. And, perhaps more importantly, they are ready to roll up their sleeves and be part of that movement forward. They want to create, innovate, tinker, and do.
They are looking for civic leaders who inspire them, involve them, connect them with others, and unleash them to create a great city. In reality, we as a city should be following them.
After taking seriously your comments, spending time assessing the political landscape, and recognizing that there will be many changes on council come June, I have decided that the best thing to do is continue my term as the council representative of District 1 and not seek the Mayoral seat.
Several of you are now paying attention to this race. Jean Schaake and Chris Watts are both good, honest, smart, and hard-working servants who love this city and want what’s best for it. Insist that this year’s election for Mayor be about vision and big ideas.
Jean and Chris – I look forward to working with either of you, helping you be a great mayor of this city, and helping move this city forward. There’s an army of our city’s best and brightest ready to help as well. Inspire them. Lead them.
2 Comments
Denton is lucky to have a guy like you.
To be perfectly frank, the first four paragraphs are very compelling but it is simply not evident how the fifth follows from the first four.