Loving your city means wanting to contribute to make it better. After my 30 years of being on the boards of civic associations and charities in Alexandria, I believe in the value of organizations that wish to make a contribution to their city. On Council, I will be attentive to these group’s concerns, but I have a plan that goes further.
I have a plan to make our city better that follows from my belief in the value of these organizations to the City's citizens. My plan includes many groups made up of those who want to make a positive difference. My plan involves our civic associations, our teacher’s association, the unions of those that provide health and safety, business groups and all our organizations that want to contribute to our city and shape its policies. I want to give all of these organizations the tools to have a stronger voice, more connection with each other, and more influence in city government. My plan is to unite these organizations by asking for delegates from each of these groups in order to form a new civic body, a united community organization.
My plan is based on models that have been working successfully for years in jurisdictions all around us. For example, in Arlington, its called CivFed. [see civfed.org]. CivFed made up of delegates from 80 groups, representing neighborhoods, charities and activist organizations. CivFed gets first look at important legislative initiatives. CivFed has direct access to management's data with the expectation that no delays, like a FOIA process, are necessary. CivFed is served by an Inspector General. Part of the IG's job it is to make sure that staff's data is correct. The IG's job is also to make sure that all the data is available to CivFed, not just staff's reports. Furthermore, the IG's job is to make sure that staff's reports and proposals are based on a correct interpretation of the data before it is presented to CivFed.
I want to bring about a more transparent government that listens to and is accountable to the citizens and businesses of the City of Alexandria. When the City makes more informed and considered decisions, it makes better decisions. Better decisions will lead to a more prosperous Alexandria. Help me make Alexandria government work better in order to make Alexandria better for all of its citizens.