As many of you are aware, I write a blog that chronicles my daily activities—both personal (so you can get to know the real me) and about the work I’m doing to earn your vote—along with my thoughts and ideas about the issues and challenges that our community is facing.
I want you to know that I “respect your scroll.” I’m going to limit my posts on North Coast BBQ because I know it can be frustrating to see political posts take over your feed. If you are interested in riding along the campaign trail with me, go to: bit.ly/Today_I_Blog Consider bookmarking it and checking back often.
Here’s one of my recent posts:
Today I…met with Richard Silverman, the clinical pharmacist at the Rinehart Clinic. He’s also completed a master’s level program in Senior Housing Administration at George Mason University. Richard and I got together to discuss affordable housing because he’s interested in providing services for the aging population in our area. However, in order to have these services, there needs to be housing for the medical workers and caregivers. To provide both, some of the models he’s investigating are multi-generational housing approaches, such as The Green House Project or Bridge Meadows. What I appreciate about Richard is how he problem-solves by thinking out of the box.
My meeting with Richard is part of my ongoing process of building relationships with a network of experts that can be tapped to provide input and ideas—both unique, out-of-the-box thinking and best-known methods—for the solutions to our challenges.
I’ll be very frank: I don’t have all the answers. I’m coming into this with a fresh, unbiased perspective. And I know you’re probably getting weary of me talking about the medical model, but it really does provide an excellent example of how a role on the city council works.
For the past few months, I have been in the assessment phase. Yes, I’ve taken the x-rays and probed the issues and challenges, as well as evaluated the healthy tissue of our city. When I’m on council, I’ll move into the diagnostic and treatment plan phase. This is where the experts weigh in.
Well before I announced my candidacy, I’ve been networking with a wide variety of subject matter experts who can bring clarity and ideas to help inform the solutions for the challenges we face. Cultivating a wide range of relationships is invaluable when diagnosing and understanding “treatment” options. When I was a dentist, I didn’t always have all the answers. When I was up against tough cases, I would reach out to my network of specialists—all of whom I had established trusted relationships with. Because I built these relationships early on in my practice, endodontists, oral surgeons, orthodontists, lab technicians, and others were readily available to provide insight from their areas of expertise so that we could offer the best solution possible to patients with the least implications.
Now I’m building my network and establishing relationships—both in and outside the community—so that when I serve on the council, I can garner insight and ideas to help expedite the decision-making process. They include land use planners, city planners, city managers from other coastal towns, watershed and forestry economists, affordable housing activists, law enforcement, geologists, and others. And I’m continuing to expand this network as we speak.
Beyond knocking on doors, building this robust network is part of the continuous work I’m doing up front to earn your vote.
Thank you for taking the time out to read this post, and I hope to talk with you soon!
Brad
bit.ly/Today_I_Blog
