Leadership Beyond Business: My Journey to Public Service

IVINS CITY COUNCIL -YEAR ONE!

A little over a year ago, I posted that I was elected and sworn in to the Ivins City Council. It has been a whirlwind, an education, and a lot of fun. I encountered several questions over the last year, and the answers help describe the journey.

“What on earth possessed you to run?”

“What was campaigning like?”

“What have been the biggest challenges?”

“What “AhHa” moments have you experienced?”

My objective here is to provide some insight that might encourage others to serve.

First, it is essential to note that the city council's role in the state of Utah is bipartisan. You do not have to “pick a side,” and the value of this is that the role is designed to serve the residents.  So there are no “D’s” or “R’s” noted when filing or on the ballot. Additionally, it is worth noting that I live in a small community with a population of 10,000, which is part of the reason I decided to run. Our issues in our city are less volatile than in larger cities.

“What on earth possessed you to run?”

When we moved to Ivins 6 years ago, I was still working full-time and traveling each week. I knew when I retired, I wanted to volunteer in the community and become more involved.  One of my primary philosophies in life has always been “Be Curious,” so I began attending City Council and Planning Commission meetings to gain a deeper understanding of how things work and volunteered to serve on several committees. I met amazing people who work for the city, as well as other residents, and became involved in local issues. When the time came to retire from 40 years in the corporate world, I knew I needed to transition to something else that was productive. Being a Type A and high I on the DISC profile, full retirement wasn’t really an option. I was ready to contribute and felt I could add value to our city by running for office. I was concerned with the then-city council members and the direction the city was heading. In my opinion, the most critical factor in deciding to run is that you genuinely love the city, town, or municipality you live in and want to contribute to its well-being.

What was campaigning like?

I had no idea what to do or what to expect. Fortunately, I had some great people to guide me. First, I had to understand what issues were important to me and, more importantly, what matters most to the residents! The Ivins Resident Survey conducted the prior year had over 300 pages of comments. This was my guide, and it helped me identify my motto, which I genuinely believe is “Your City and Your Council.”

Next came the planning to meet and get to know as many residents as possible. The "Meet and Greet" is the tried-and-true process for this. I invited several residents to gather their neighbors and friends and ask anything they wanted about the issues. We also worked to schedule three forums so that all residents could attend and hear from all the candidates. Along the way, I created flyers, signs, and a website to share information and articles I had written.

What about the “haters?”

The song's words read true…” Haters gonna hate, hate, hate.” There were some negative comments and posts, but I was in leadership positions for years and learned an important lesson – not everyone is going to like me or agree with me. There was nothing of the caliber we see on a national level. My philosophy was and continues to be - just do you!

So, you've been elected… now what?

 I think, like many other people, we have no real idea of what it takes to run a city. We take for granted that the roads will be good, that there will be water, that the police and fire will be there when we need them. There was a steep learning curve to understand each aspect of the city's departments and budgets. Extraordinary people work for this city and have been tremendously helpful. I schedule meetings with city staff and residents to better understand the issues and concerns and how we can resolve them. I read A LOT!

 A perfect example is Storm Drains. Now, after reading about storm drains for 15 hours, I am certainly no expert. Still, I have gained knowledge and appreciation for the city's needs related to this topic, as well as the cost of creating and maintaining this critical part of our city's infrastructure.

What have been the most significant challenges?

This will be different for anyone who decides to run and is elected. For me, one challenge is the law that states three or more council members can’t be together at the same time, as it constitutes a quorum and is considered a legally binding meeting. (I am paraphrasing a big, long law). Coming from a previous world where constant communication and collaboration were the name of the game, I find working in silos challenging. This was eased for me by working with the excellent city department and the people we have, so I can still feel part of a team. The other challenge is budgets. The city is a nonprofit entity, which is significantly different from the revenue streams of the for-profit world I came from, so learning how to impact fees, sales and use taxes, and property taxes was critical. The refreshing factor is that we, as a city and state, are required to have a balanced budget.

Knowing what you do now, would you still have run for election?

Absolutely. I have had a great deal of fun getting to know more of our residents, helping to solve problems where I can, and contributing to keeping Ivins special. We rewrote the General Plan, established an Affordable Housing Task Force that I lead, and launched Ivins Inspired to increase community participation and volunteerism. We are now working to update our Animal Shelter, among other projects.

It is easy to criticize and post on social media and quite another to contribute and help -Choose to serve!