Our City, like many communities, has seen a growing trend toward putting politics over policy and divisiveness over decision making. Good people will disagree, but there comes a time to put those disagreements aside and get to the business of turning our City around. I am running for City Council because I want to be part of this change.
I am no stranger to working through volatile issues and difficult times. Early in my days of community service, I served as President of the Oak Park Neighborhood Improvement Association. Working with community leaders we created change in our neighborhood by targeting drug dealers and cleaning up parks. We fought to open the first new school in Oak Park in 40 years and to open a neighborhood supermarket when opening a business there was considered too risky.
When I was appointed to the City Planning Commission in 1993, businesses were leaving Sacramento because it was a place where it was simply too difficult to "do business". City leaders embarked upon efforts to fix what was broken, creating the Development Oversight Commission, streamlined processes and consistent policies and practices geared toward removing unnecessary roadblocks and tangled red tape to help business thrive. These coordinated efforts resulted in the creation of jobs and expanded business opportunities.
Now is the time for us to once again come together and identify areas where we can do better.
As a lifelong Sacramentan, public official, and candidate, I welcome the opportunity to work with community leaders to right the ship. Bringing divergent points of view together, I have tackled tough problems, creating solutions through collaboration. I know that we can do the same to address the issues we face today.
Please feel free to call me at 446-4434 or email me at Patrick@patrick-kennedy.com to share with me concrete ideas on how we can work together for a better Sacramento.
Sincerely,
Patrick Kennedy