My city will elect a new commissioner for my neighborhood this fall. To help the two candidates pander to me, I’ve drafted a list of local political issues that matter to me.
I invite these candidates to propose solutions to these pressing issues.
- Protected bike lanes from a main street in every neighborhood to every school.
- An organized municipal effort to provide help for homeless people in our neighborhood instead of our fend for yourself system.
- Playgrounds that are 20% less awful; built for 2025 leisure activities, not 1950 leisure activities (soccer goals, anyone?); with drinking water and bathrooms; and shade structures because climate change.
- Lower speed limits and put speed cameras everywhere, because you drive too fast and are texting.
- A bigger sign for La Chiquiada. How are people supposed to find it?
- Umbrellas at the public pools, and keep pools open until October because it’s warm.
- Better curation of our Little Free Libraries. People really need to stop putting their garbage books in those.
- Revamp homestead exemptions so higher income people pay higher millage than lower income residents. It doesn’t promote economic diversity in our community to give our wealthiest residents tax breaks they don’t need.
- The My (Browned-Eyed) Girl Is My Wonderwall Act to require street karaoke buskers and Universal Joint patio musicians to expand their repertoires a bit.
- Decatur has a Bell Street but doesn’t have a Bell Street Burritos. Forget Trader Joe’s, that’s the real missed opportunity.
- Trash bags with more durable drawstrings. Alternately, let me buy stamps or something that lets me pay the trash fee while using working trash bags.
I’ll add to this as I think of more.
