Local Option sales Tax

I am writing in support of the local option sales tax which will be on the March 3rd ballot. Here are the reasons why:

1. The cost of recovery from the flood is enormous. While I did not lose my home- I did lose my job. I think that I am more than able to absorb the 1% sales tax over the next 5 years 3 months. It is a way that I can contribute to my community.

2. I support the tax because it will allow us to show others that we are willing to be involved on a local level in reinvestment in our communities.

3. I fully trust that the money will be spent the way it is being designated.

It is reason three above that I would like to comment on.

It is time for us to start working together- there is no us and them. The City Council is made up of people who get up in the morning, face the issues ahead of them and probably have trouble sleeping at night as well.

They are members of our community. The are neighbors, employees and people who work and live in Cedar Rapids. They are not thieves or people who cannot be trusted. They are doing the best that they can on a daily basis- have they made mistakes- yes. Would we have made different mistakes if we were in their place- yes.

It is time to stop painting people as being in one camp or another- as though any of us have forgotten about the people's lives who were disrupted from the flood.

People are clamoring for the Council to make tough decisions- to show some leadership- and yet when they do make the hard decision to seek a 1% sales tax to boost recovery- they are slammed as making the wrong choice.

We all need to start doing what we can- not focusing on what we wish we could.

We will come through this together

Peace and Grace

The Personal is Political

I am not sure where I heard the statement that " the personal is political" so I can't properly credit the source.

I have had the opportunity the past couple of weeks to enter into the inner workings of both city and county politics from a very limited perspective. I have been a fly on the wall at several meetings and have tried to understand how it all works. I come away knowing more clearly what I don't know.

I have fallen prey to experiencing the process without being truly impacted or invested. I was reminded of this as I listened to the impassioned pleas of people affected by the flood at a recent city council meeting. I am dabbling in civic involvement at a time where people are literally fighting for their homes, their jobs and often their sense of dignity.

My lofty ideals and high minded thinking have very little to do with the homeowners who can't pay the contractors who have worked on their homes because jumpstart money has not come through. My pleas for patience and trust in the system can be naive and based on a certain detachment form the situation.

I hope to be more understanding in what people are actually going through, while still advocating that the process is complex and will take time.