day 273 : I'm an elected official, man!

this is a fun one, folks! 

anybody who knows me in real life, knows that i am pretty political. i follow the news, i *always* vote and i try pretty hard to advocate for causes that mean a lot to me.

and while i believe that every american should vote to elect our congresswom/en, senators & the president, lately, i have realized how important local politics are! 

with each passing election cycle, it seems that our country becomes more and more divided ; which makes ALL issues harder to compromise on. 

a few months ago, i joined a neighborhood committee for sustainability and environmentalism. we are a small group, meet once a month and find ways to engage our neighborhood re: recycling, composting, solar panels, ect. {for those of you who aren't local ; our neighborhood is really incredible & is by far, one of the most progressive 'hoods in the mpls // st. paul area}

we have a few neighborhood committees, and one neighborhood council. anybody can join a committee, at any time during the year, but the council is a 2-year term, with an election. 

there have been a few openings on the council, and with elections near, i knew i wanted to put my name in the hat! 

i feel like kindness and local politics go hand in hand. seemingly small issues {by washington standards} such as city-wide compost programs, or new bike lanes, or safe routes to school programs are things that we can change! each of us can be involved in making our neighborhood better. better neighborhoods mean better cities, which means better states. and like the late {great} paul wellstone said, 'we all do better, when we all do better!' {probably one of my favorite quotes of all time!} 

so, here i am, the newest member of the linden hills neighborhood council! our first meeting is in a few weeks & i am really excited to document the things that i learn!

{and spoiler alert : in the {{far-off}} future, i would really, really love to run for city council!}