This is Dedicated to the One I Love - My Kind of Town
Our blog entry this week is dedicated to the Duke City - home to many of our readers, the largest city in the state, and fertile ground for positive change.
For those of you who have been reading this blog for awhile, you are familiar with the Alice Walker quote: "Activism is my rent for living on the planet." And if you followed our 2017 Mayoral race, you heard Tim Keller pledge that he would take ownership of the issues confronting our city - no more passing the buck, waiting for the buck, finger pointing. No, clearly the time has come for us to deep-six the waiting game, roll up our sleeves and fix what ails us. Ails us? Yup, as residents of Albuquerque, we are stakeholders.
WHERE TO BEGIN - Let's hear what our new mayor has to say:
" As your Mayor, I’m dedicated to making the City of Albuquerque a safe, innovative and inclusive community. This includes returning to community policing, focusing on behavioral health and substance abuse issues, and hiring more front-line police officers and first responders.
My administration is also committed to fulfilling Albuquerque’s enormous potential, by prioritizing job creation, igniting innovation, and fostering broad-based economic growth. For Albuquerque to be successful, we must place increased emphasis on growing the incredible businesses located right here in the City.
There is a lot of work to do. But by pulling together we can tackle our toughest challenges."
I'm in! And I hope you are too.
(Yours truly pictured above with Tim last June at the NWNM Mayoral Forum.)
...By pulling together we can tackle our toughest challenges.
So what would that look like? Where do I start? I am a firm believer in an expression I grew up with: "You can lead a horse to water, but the hard part is putting on the bathing suit." If you have a job to do, let people know what you want to achieve, give them some tools to do the job, and enlist their help. And that is pretty much what the new cabq.gov website is all about (more on that later in this blog).
Is this a teaching moment? How about a Buddhist perspective to push your Actvism needle into the Green Zone?
If a system doesn't interact with its environment in any way, it doesn't exist in nature. Think about that and accept that you exist. Tibetan Buddhists call this dependent arising or pratiyasmutpada. It is the notion that things (ourselves included) only exist as referential sytems to cause and effect by other things - OR: nothing exists in a closed system.
We are all one. Benefit the city. Benefit yourself.
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Roll up your sleeves and Get involved
Putting on the Bathing Suit: CLICK HERE
Please familiarize yourselves with this URL. Better yet, MAKE IT A FAVORITE.
- Work for the City - this is a city jobs site. Check it out. Know anyone who's qualified to be our Museum's Assoc. Director?
- Serve on a board - I found this facsinating - a broad range of areas where we can meaningfully serve our community
- Join a Policy Team - Work on one of these 8 teams - make an impact through shaping policy
- Have an Idea? - This is my personal fave because it gives me a place to go when I think I have a good idea
There are countless ways, as a city employee or a citizen volunteer, to tackle the challenges we face:
A.R.T. - love it or hate it, is a legacy of the Berry administration. It has the potential to be a silk purse instead of a sow's ear. My vote: silk purse
Housing and Homelessness - the face of homelessness in our city presents itself to us every day, and it is growing. What can we do? This is not just about providing housing, but that's a first step in stabilizing many of our homeless. It's also about unemployment and our economy, behavioral health issues and our lack of treatment facilities.
Better outcomes for our children - again, it's not just about education but that's a good place to start. I love the idea of Parks and Recreation facilities being used for after school and summer programs. We now have a mayor who is willing to address what the City can do for this part of our population and not just dump it in the lap of APS.
Not sure if Paid Sick Leave is a so-called "job killer" - but that's what the opposition called it last October when it came to a vote. Get involved - is the current City Council proposal the weakest in the US? What is the right business size to qualify for a waiver?
Engage, learn, and help make Albuquerque live up to its potential.
Here's another important link: CONTACT YOUR CITY COUNCILOR.
City Council meetings are another great way to stay on top of what's going on in Albuquerque. You can find out what was discussed at the last meeting, what's on the docket for the next, as well as date, time and location. There is a public comment period at each meeting - let your voice be heard.
RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS - we are often wired to pick up the phone and complain more than to compliment. Why is that? If you like what the new mayor is doing, why don't you call your City Councilor and tell him or her. "I want to let you know I support our Mayor, and I hope you do too." And not just what Tim's doing...our 9 councilors work hard, and they deserve a grateful phone call when warranted too.
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Our New First Family
Pictured above: Maya, Liz, Jack and Tim Keller
Learn more about them - their lives and careers - and what they are doing to make Albuquerque more diverse, inclusive and innovative.
We are so forunate to have both of these outstanding people working for us. And I'm sure they'd like to hear from you, so why don't you drop them a note, if you have something on your mind or just want to say "Good luck!"
Contact Our Mayor, Tim Keller
Contact Elizabeth Kistin Keller, our First Lady via email: firstladykeller@cabq.gov
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So How About It, Albuquerque?
Isn't it time we all suit up and knock it out of the park?
HAPPY NEW YEAR - From the Home Team