A CITY WATCHER IS BORN
Way back in the 1990’s when I was a less wrinkled brunette my husband Toby came rushing in one day and said they’re killing prairie dogs next to city hall. While he ran to the garage to make a sign to go and protest I started looking for phone numbers for the people who served on our city council. That was the beginning of my entrance into the world of city watching.
As time went by I stayed engaged, a lot. I worked on campaigns for creating an open space tax and in favor of our resident initiated managed growth amendment. I served on the Citizen Advisory Committee for the 2003 update of our Comprehensive Plan. Years later when the Comprehensive Plan had another update in 2021 I served on the Community Advisory Committee.
In 2000, I went to City Administrator Gary Klaphake with a crazy idea and kept going back until it came to fruition. That idea became the Thomas Open Space Farm, an accomplishment I am so proud of.
At one point Toby and I, disturbed by the actions of some councilors, went looking for the City Council’s ethics code only to discover no code existed. We set out to correct that. Working with Common Cause we successfully lobbied the council, a code was written and in a 6-1 vote it was adopted. Another proud moment.
HELLO INTERNET
In 2001 a big change happened, we got this newfangled thing called the internet. Yup, we were online. This led to us taking over a small email newsletter. I was a founding member of a group called Citizens for Lafayette that had formed to push back on the council’s attacks on our managed growth amendment (I am guessing I will share more on that in the future ). Jeff Monica, also a founding member, future planning commissioner, and future councilor, was sending out the newsletter to inform us about city hall’s actions. He asked us if we would take over, and we did.
Weekly, for over six years we published the email newsletter. We expanded it to cover city hall in general as well as covering other Lafayette related topics. We invited council candidates to submit their platforms and published comments sent to us by residents.
I’M DONE
In 2007 as part of another group called Preserve Lafayette’s Eastern Edge, we fought a land annexation at the corner of Baseline and 120th that was slated to be a Lowe’s. It went to the voters and they approved the annexation. We lost. I walked away from all city watching. I was done. The economy tanked and Lowe’s didn’t build, there’s more to this but that’s another story for later.
I’M BACK
In 2014 I lost Toby months before we hit 42 years together and our 40th wedding anniversary. By 2015 I was back city watching again. Two issues pulled me in, one was reports of mistreatment of our seniors by city staff and the other was the possible loss of the grain elevators and silo, now owned by the city, but at the time part of the Feed and Grain on Baseline.
I connected with old friends and made new ones who also shared my interest in monitoring city hall.
HMM, NEXTDOOR YOU SAY?
And then a friend said, “Have you heard about Nextdoor?” That led to me posting city related issues on Nextdoor to try and help inform residents as Toby and I had done in the past.
Years went by and some people said they appreciated my posts so I kept posting. I still am. But Nextdoor keeps getting wonky, and it’s hard to find posts I have written in the past, depending on how far back they go some don’t exist any longer. So if I want to give an update on a topic I can’t link to the background post.
HMM, SUBSTACK I SAY
Then I found this thing called Substack. I said to myself, (be prepared I talk to myself a lot) what if I set one up, and when I post on Nextdoor I also post on Substack so people (including me) can find what I share all in one place? I asked on Nextdoor if that would interest anyone, and well, here I am.
Welcome.
Oh, one more thing. Why Political hobbyist? Oh yes, there’s a story behind that.
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