Teri Jory: A ‘Can Do’ Leader

Our city is facing important issues, from public safety to housing, from addressing climate change to revitalizing State Street. This City Council election is about addressing these challenges. The Independent correctly recognizes the importance of new ideas, fresh leadership, and a collegial and collaborative City Council. These themes are cogently documented in your October 10 piece where you emphasized the need to “be more flexible, nimble, and experimental in what we are willing to try.”

I am emphatically in agreement with these sentiments. We are at a crossroads, desperately in need of new ideas, innovative and creative approaches, and a “can-do” leader committed to action and results. Your vision for a rejuvenated City Council runs counter to your endorsement in District 2.

I am already cultivating meaningful change, addressing key concerns facing our community. To enhance public safety, I’ve successfully advocated for Cliff Drive crosswalks and a pedestrian-bike path from Hendry’s Beach to City College. I’m working to make sure 1,000 Steps beach-access is on track for much needed repairs. With the support of the Fire Department I’ve implemented the Mesa Safe Disaster Preparedness project ensuring community safety when the next natural disaster strikes. I also serve on the S.B. District Attorney Human Trafficking Task Force addressing what is becoming a crime epidemic, and the Mosquito and Vector Management District fighting for public health against potential diseases. To help bring the community together, I am working with Mesa Architects on a variety of arts and beautification projects at the busiest intersection on the Mesa.

I am committed to transitioning our city to a carbon neutral footprint, restoring back our environmental leadership. We can maintain the character of our neighborhoods, while building workforce and student housing in the urban core, reducing commuter miles, and invigorating State Street with a vibrant downtown to live, work, and relax. Finally, we need to reassess and retire our culture of bureaucratic inertia and obstructionism embodied by certain members of our Planning Commission.

If the editors were truly living up to their thoughtful assessment of what the city needs at this time, I would be recognized as the most logical, viable, and effective choice for City Council. I encourage all my District 2 neighbors to join the many people I meet every day in their homes, and out in the community who are enthusiastically supporting me.