Neighbors

Like most Summit-ites, we moved here 25 yrs ago because of good public schools and the easy commute to my job on Wall Street.  Now that our family is raised, and business career over, I want to payback Summit for the community benefits you’ve given us since 1979.

Some of these are obvious, like efficient local government, a wealth of nonprofit agencies, the self-service Recycling Transfer Station, and faith-based religions of every creed and denomination.  Others such as the importance of social and economic diversity are not fully understood.

But campaigning door-to-door to get in touch with voters and what they are thinking, I frequently encountered TMI  (too much information).  Thanks to cell phones, the 24-hour news cycle, and dual income streams, people’s minds are no longer with their bodies.  Doorbells aren’t answered.  Attention spans are never undivided.  The communal bond that once linked passers-by on public streets is evaporating.  TMI has cut us off from random encounters that used to invigorate city life, and keeps us from engaging our neighbors.

To overcome it I set up Listening Posts at the Dump, Municipal Pool, Railroad Station, Farmers Market, Post Office, and other public property complete with portable banner, folding chair, hat, clipboard, even dog biscuits!

This new approach to politics shunned glossy flyers and negative attack ads.  Instead I talked directly to voters . . . on their terms not mine.  It fed the public realm, and bolstered Summit’s sense of common cause.

We all lead hectic individual lives.  But every neighborhood has certain communal issues, whether traffic safety or recreation fields or substandard housing or freight trains.  Most of all I pledge to keep Summit affordable, so we retain our rich cultural diversity.

Tom's Current Agenda

Smaller Government
Recycling
Public Art
No Freight Trains
Downtown Economy
Municipal Budget
Taxes
Traffic