Looking out for our amazing city and its citizens is, and always has been, my utmost priority. The representation of our citizenry cannot be something that ceases in council chambers. The needs of our community must be represented beyond City Hall, from Oak Harbor to Olympia, from Washington State to the other Washington. Most importantly, this representation must not be timid, but instead fierce and unwavering!
In March both the City Council and Mayor Severns afforded me the opportunity to go to DC and accomplish just that. There were meetings at the Capitol, the Pentagon, and the Army Corps of Engineers. Our communications were direct, yet detailed, seeking to promote Oak Harbor and its needs. The talks predominately focused in on our top infrastructure projects. We also had the opportunity to attend conferences with other federal agencies like HUD, EPA, and DOT.
As many of you know, portions of our hard-earned tax dollars go directly to the State and Federal level. Because we have all paid into these funds, as your representatives it is our job to ensure we all receive a fair share of its benefits, rather than it fund Capital projects (in DC and Seattle respectively). Your local representatives, me included, participated in countless intentional discussions. They helped establish a direction for our community, and planted the seeds of an idea that will make our city and citizens flourish financially. These will build the roots for our plan for an affordable Oak Harbor, both in the short term and long term.
While we were met with great success in DC, we must remain diligent in continuing to foster the relationships we established, nurturing our projects until their completion. Getting to where we need to be as a city isn't a week or even a year long process. We will, however, continue to grow as a city and move towards our ideals.
Representing each and every one of you is one of the greatest honors of my life and I assure you that our representatives in Olympia and DC are finally hearing you loud and clear.
