Working Together to Make a Difference

By Elizabeth McCarthy

Our challenge, individually and collectively, is to listen and learn from each other, as well as share our own views, so that together we can take into account the needs and interests of all concerned.

Our challenge, individually and collectively, is to listen and learn from each other, as well as share our own views, so that together we can take into account the needs and interests of all concerned. In the next few years, housing and traffic will provide grist for the problem-solving mill.

Serving as a Bridge I want to serve as a bridge among all parts of the community, so we can pull together to create effective solutions. I support broad-based participation in addressing Sebastopol's issues, and I encourage more informal forums for sharing our dreams for a healthy, thriving community.

I offer an open mind and a willingness to listen and learn from all interested persons. I respect and appreciate the knowledge, experience, questions, concerns, and ideas of each participant. And I look out for those who may be ignored or overlooked, so they are included.

Principles and Values I am guided by principles and values, rather than dogmatic positions. Among these are:

• Encourage broad-based participation in collaborative problem-solving. The smaller the world gets, the more important it is to learn to pull together.
• Money is a useful tool, but a poor measure of the things that really matter. When making decisions, it is important to give weight to the values that do not have dollar signs attached to them. For example, children and family, the natural environment, harmony and community spirit.
• Stick to the knitting. With projected budget shortfalls, take care of basic city services first. Strengthen the city's financial health by working with other cities and counties to recover our local property taxes that have been diverted by the state.