A friend sent this to me the same day as the first candidate forum I attended.
So many times in my life I have not tried. I didn’t put myself out there. Why? Fear.
What drove my fear? Feelings of inadequacy. Where did that come from?
I’m sure Freud or Jung would have a lot to say on this. I asked my dad one time when he was in the hospital why he thought I had this fear of speaking in front of people or competing publicly. He didn’t really know. I didn’t know. I do now.
It was the feeling of not loving myself and forgiving myself for all my inadequacies. Allowing yourself to be fallible is key. I was so AFRAID of looking stupid it paralyzed me. My thoughts paralyzed me. How does one overcome this?
I literally locked up one time in college when I had to give an oral report. I was beet red, sweating profusly, and stuttering. I think I said three sentences and was done. My written report got a A. My oral? Ick. My teacher gave me a good grade because I seriously think she felt sorry for me.
From that moment on I steered clear away from any kind of public speaking. In grade school I was deathly afraid of even being called on in class. Same fear response. Up until recently I couldn’t figure out why.
First, I didn’t have faith. I didn’t walk in faith. Faith that God is always by my side. Second, I didn’t believe in myself. And this is what I don’t know how I got that way. My parents have loved me so much. I had no reason to have this fear. Did something happen to me when I was young? Possibly. It doesn’t matter anymore, really.
How do we achieve happiness? Happiness to me is a really good pasta or cannoli. Peace and contentment is really what I strive for these days. To be at peace with myself. Most people who know me or have known me would have never guessed I would put myself out there and run for mayor.
I talked about why I’m running already - to be the challenger. That isn’t my only reason. I want to see Eden Prairie get back to a place where people trust each other. There’s so much fear, anxiety and distrust between people who may not agree on things. People don’t trust their neighbors even anymore. Relationships are so important. If you even just smile and wave at the people in your neighborhood you drive by everyday, that’s enough to feel comfortable stopping to say hi should you pass them on a walk.
Next time you feel like you want to call the police to complain about your neighbor’s dog barking, just stop and think about how else you could reach out to them. Maybe write a kind note first. I do get that some people just don’t care and you could ask them a thousand times to take care of their issue and they don’t. Then it’s time to ask for help. But it the police or city should not be the first call (unless it’s an emergency of course).
As Mayor, I see myself NOT being the captain of the ship. That’s the job of the people. The people should be what drives government. The Mayor and Council are more like the rudder. Experience and knowledge is what steers the city to do what it does. That’s the job of the Mayor and Council is to be the catalyst between the people and the government. When the government drives the people the system has failed. In this country and this state we have a constitutional republic which means that the people have all political power to abolish or modify their government. It just takes people to stand up. If everyone stood up together then we really wouldn’t need leaders. We are not yet in a time where the majority is ready to stand up and take action. It’s coming though and I hope to be a motivator to those watching this election so that they can see someone just like them can run for office.
I probably don’t have to tell you that being a career elected official doesn’t make you relevant to the times of what the people need. Being on commissions and boards and such is a lot of talking and discussing things in a very small group. What I’ve found that works the best to find the heart beat of the community is to talk to the people in it. And I mean talking to them in their environment, not on city turf. Town Halls are super effective as long as it doesn’t take on a ‘presentation’ type event. Sitting in a room set up as a round table to have a conversation is much less daunting for people to engage themselves.
I have a lot of ideas on how to bring government to the people so they feel that it’s more approachable. People need to get involved. That doesn’t mean you have to run for an office. You could volunteer on a committee or just start conversations with your elected officials. You can volunteer to help with events or elections. So many opportunities. Every city council meeting has an open forum. Bring your concerns to the council. Unfortunately most people don’t contact their representatives until there’s an issue. That’s normal. Why else would you contact them right? Maybe that needs to change.