A week ago we were still fully entrenched in the conversation and activity of Fort Collins Elections. Now that we’ve had a week of respite – some thoughts and reactions:
- THANK YOU to all of the individuals that put their name on a public ballot. The tremendous civic step you took to offer to lead our community and to share your vision is one that I certainly appreciate and celebrate. We may or may not agree on overall visions, but I absolutely value your willingness to be part of the solution. Thank you Jeni James Arndt, Patricia Babbitt, Eric C. Hamrick, Sean McCoy, Julie Pignataro, Shirley Peel, Melanie Potyondy, Alexander Adams and Emily Francis!
- Special congratulations to Jeni Arndt, Julie Pignataro, Melanie Potyondy and Emily Francis on their successful election bids. We look forward to working with each of you to share a business perspective and to be a resource as you consider the impact of local policy on the vital economic and community engine that is business.
- I want to share an additional shoutout to Shirley Peel for her service as a City Councilmember for District 4 for the last 30 months. Your dedication to thoughtful dialogue, your willingness to do the homework and your willingness to ask the hard questions has made our community better. You are an amazing example of value-based leadership in action. We look forward to continuing to work with you through the end of the year and are hopeful that this will not be the end of your public service. We need leaders like you at all levels of government and community service.
- If you aren’t fully exhausted from election season and now the ongoing debrief, I encourage you to check out the article created by Rebecca Powell at the Coloradoan. She did a nice job diving into what voters might be saying to our elected officials with their ballots.
- Finally, now is the time to start community conversations around priorities for the newly elected Fort Collins City Council. You, citizens of Fort Collins, already sent several messages to our government partners about what is important to our community success. Now is the time to narrow in on key topics. We are hosting a CIVIC Conversation on November 27 to kick start this thinking and invite you to join us! RSVP here: https://fortcollinschamber.com/event/civic-conversation-new-council-new-priorities-whats-important-to-you/
The Chamber looks forward to continuing to be a trusted business Champion, Convener and Catalyst, creating shared economic prosperity for Northern Colorado – and engagement in political conversations is a key part of that work