As many of you know, I am running for Kennett Township Supervisor. There is a primary on May 19th, but the main election will be on November3, 2015.
Why Township Supervisor? You just ran for the State House after all, you might be asking.
My goal in running for public office is to try to help my community. I’ve volunteered on many school district committees, in many roles, and I have been amazed at how many decisions made by elected officials seem to be made in a vacuum regarding their effect on day to day life.
I’ve been working most of my adult life in positions that are about building and improving communities. Whether it was helping to design the Americans with Disabilities Act access program for the Super Bowl, working with the Junior Board of Christiana Care as treasurer and managing their funds and grants, or working with Edutopia to manage online communities, my experience has been geared towards making progress and ensuring that people have access to what they need to move forward.
While I’m disappointed I lost in November, I have had the opportunity to work with Representative Barrar’s office on several issues lately. Rep. Barrar has come and supported Kennett High School’s After Prom, and his office is currently working on making sure recent changes in a law about background checks for volunteers is implemented in such a way that it does not discourage or prevent parents from getting involved in their children’s school or classrooms. His office, and Steve personally, has been incredibly responsive, and I’m so glad we’re getting a chance to work together.
During the campaign, I spoke with people from all across our area. Many of the issues we face, from infrastructure planning and repair to looking at our goals for long-term growth and development, start at the Township level. When you look at other townships in our area, you find some, like Concord Township, who actively encourage growth and development, and others who seek to maintain the status quo. In Kennett Township, the goal is trying to achieve a good balance between sensible and sustainable growth, without turning our area into a strip mall. The balance between maintaining what makes Kennett special, how to preserve open space, and how to balance growth and preservation are critical, and we need someone to help ensure this balance is maintained, now and as we look into the future.
In Kennett Township, we’ve made great strides in recent years, and I believe I can use my skills to help further enhance community engagement and interaction. For example, at a local community group meeting this week, a conversation came up about the new library. Everyone seemed to have strong feelings about it, and given that over 55% of Kennett Township residents have library cards, this is not surprising. The concerns came down to trying to make sure there was easy access to everyone and that the new building reflected the charm and history of the area, and that we weren’t losing the past in the change to something new and exciting.
This sums up the challenges we face together as a Township. How do we look at things like making sure our roads are wide enough for emergency vehicles, yet not so wide that they simply encourage more traffic and development? How do we approach land conservation and managing our natural resources? How do we ensure that the development of trails benefits everyone in our community? How do we make sure people know where the trails are, so they can enjoy them? How do we make sure people feel welcomed into our community, and know about opportunities to get involved?
My experience in building communities online and offline, designing programs that ensure access to people with disabilities, and managing finances for a non-profit all give me the experience we want in a Supervisor. However, it’s my experience with helping businesses to adapt to the world of digital communication and commerce that may prove most helpful. As we move forward as a Township, we will have to look for better and more efficient ways to communicate and do business, and we’ll need to do this while balancing the need to preserve everything that makes our Township special and outstanding from many of its neighbors. Progress and preservation need to live comfortably side by side. This is what I hope to be able to achieve as a Supervisor.
Please feel free to contact me anytime by leaving a comment here on the blog, or dropping an email to me at hoffmandigitalmedia@gmail.com, or contacting me on Facebook, or just give me a call. We all live here together, and it’s only by talking and understanding how you feel that we can plan for a successful future together.