Byline: Brian Chicoine

I agree that Christmas can be very commercial – and I am not a fan of retailers opening on Thanksgiving or wicked early on “Black Friday” (like 3 a.m. or some time like that) – though I haven’t seen much of that with the current staffing shortages. But there are many aspects of Christmas that are not commercial, such as family time and traditions.  

There will always be division. In fact, our political system was set up to be adversarial, but being adversarial while still showing respect for those who disagreed with you used to be the norm (one great example that I often talk about is the relationship between President Ronald Reagan and Speaker Tip O’Neill). This is not the case today.

These individuals are the homeless youth in our city. Homeless youth often attend school, hold jobs, and go about their lives without people knowing that they are homeless. 

I want to focus on some of the good things that have come from the growth of our city, because I understand that city living is a balance of the good and the bad and because I’m confident that good will overtake the bad. 

One thing that prevents people from getting involved is that they don’t know where to go. So I have listed a few organizations that are involved with the major issues of our city. This list is a good starting point for people to get involved. 

Religion, education, and politics are the three areas that I’ve seen the most division and have experienced the most pushback. And of course, people and organizations (usually with an ulterior motive) take advantage of these differences to drive a wedge between us. Like a modern-day Civil War, we see family members and friends on opposite sides of issues hating on each other. 

Homelessness is not an easy issue to solve, and there are many factors including addiction and mental health that contribute to people living on the streets.

My point is that when people run for local office, it is generally to serve their community. Of course, you do have people who have ulterior motives or who want power, but we should not judge the lot based on a few. Elections are too important. 

Instead of simply complaining, I decided to present my ideas for a possible solution. Although not the perfect solution, my hope is that my ideas will act as a starting point to answering the question of why isn’t it done this way? 

I hope that these ideas start discussions that will lead to great things happening in our city. I believe that with the right partnerships, with citizen involvement, and with support and action from our elected officials, these ideas – and more – can become reality. 

Everyone has a different experience with their alderman as well as with various elected officials in our city, and the fact is that there are people who do not feel represented, and very well may not be as represented as they could be. But if we get involved and inform ourselves we can better impact our city elections and keep our city moving forward.