The "I"'s Have It

    Campaign season is a funny time of year.  Election time tends to bring out that all-important vowel: "I".  "I did this."  "I did that."  "I would've never done that."

    Anytime a Council Member or Mayor takes action, they had better hope at least three other people agree with them.  If they don't seek to build that consensus, they will end their first and only term on Council having achieved very little except for maybe having inflated their ego only to see it deflated on their way out of Town Hall.  If the citizens of any community wait around for Council Members (including Mayors) to deliver something new on their own, like a park or a street, those citizens will live a disappointed and frustrated life, spending their time walking on dirt roads that lead to empty fields rather than lush parkland.

    Each of us has a job to do in serving our community.  Our citizens willingly give us their trust and perhaps more hesitantly, their money through property and sales taxes.  They give of their time by volunteering to serve on boards and commissions and by assisting with public events.  Town staff does the heavy lifting.  They keep our streets and homes safe, our parks clean and useable, our water flowing.  Members of our staff work while we are sleeping and show up to rescue us when the house is on fire or when the front of our car meets the rear of the one in front of us.  Our Council does its job too but none of us does the job alone.  It's our job to lead without dictating.  It's our job to listen, not demand.  It's our job to serve while encouraging others to serve by our side.

    Serving a community as an elected official is not an "I" job.  Truly serving is a "We" job.
The past three years has seen our Town come a long way.  The trust you have put in your Town Council and in me has been rewarded with great new projects like the major improvements in our parks and new businesses which are lining up to make Little Elm home.  We have dramatically enhanced the aesthetic appeal of our community by replacing broken down fences along our major corridors and installed street lighting to increase the feeling of living in a safe and welcoming community.   We have redeveloped run-down businesses and shopping centers and removed those that were beyond saving.
   
    As a Town, we continue to strive toward excellence in all things.  In some areas, we have a way to go but make no mistake, our neighbors are watching and they take us seriously.  Little Elm is becoming a destination that is recognized throughout our region as a place to call home.  Nobody dragged us to this point on their own.  We have worked hard together, as a community, as neighbors.

    Together WE will continue to build a better community and WE will Accept Nothing Less Than Awesome.