As many of you know, I’m in the running for the open County Commission seat here in Montgomery County, TN. Below is the letter that I’ve sent to the members, who will vote on Monday, March 9th to decide who joins them:
Please allow me to introduce myself, I’m David W. Shelton, and I’m a candidate for the open District 1 seat in the County Commission. When I learned of the opening, I quickly threw my hat into the ring because I saw a great opportunity to serve my community in a profound way, and help continue the leadership of our community.
I’ve lived in the Clarksville/Montgomery County most of my life, and I’m proud to have already been very active in the community, by serving on the Clarksville Human Relations Commission, a graduate of the Citizen Police Academy (way back in Class 9 in 1998!), and every year, I participate in a lively discussion on Diversity Day with Leadership Clarksville.
I’m currently employed by Jostens Printing and Publishing, and there’s a really good chance that I designed your child’s yearbook cover in the last ten years. I’m proud to support our school system any way that I possibly can, and I will always look to the best interest of our county’s children.
Everyone has their pet issues, and I’m certainly no exception. For me, there are three:
Infrastructure. District 1 is one of the fastest-growing areas of our county, and we MUST ensure that the growth in this area keeps up with the pace. I intend to push for growth especially in our roads. Trenton Road and Tylertown Road have long been in dire need of improvement, and I will push for this. Tylertown Road is especially critical with the new Hemlock plant that’s slated to begin construction this month.
Education. Our schools need all the support we can give them. Thankfully, with the new West Creek facility being built, Northeast High School will finally be relieved of most of its overcrowding beginning with the 2009-2010 school year. We should do all we can to help repair our existing facilities and give our children the best education possible.
Communication. I fully support an open government. I believe that we can and should do all we can to stay in touch with our constituents, and I intend to follow the excellent example of City Council member Bill Summers in communicating with those in District 1 on all that we have going on in our proceedings.
I sincerely hope you will consider nominating me and voting for me for this position. I have been given letters of recommendation by City Council member Ward 5 Candy Johnson and State Senator Tim Barnes. District 67 State Representative Joe Pitts has also voiced his support for me in this position.
You may have heard from others who have voiced their support for me, and I will do all I can to help our County to look to the future, for all of us.
Thank you again for your consideration.
Sincerely,
David W. Shelton
Some of you wonder about the GLBT issues – and no, I’m not going back into the closet. The one primary thing I support is adding sexual orientation to the nondiscrimination clause – and guess what, it’s already THERE! It’s nice to be able to focus on matters that apply to EVERY member of the community, and work hard for the people in my district.
If you live in Montgomery County, I urge you to contact your commissioner and ask them to nominate for me and then vote for me!
Update
Well, I didn’t win the seat, but I didn’t finish dead last either – I was encouraged by the reception that I got, and I’ll be sure to make a run in the future.
In the words of our favorite Austrian Governator… I’ll be back.
No related posts.
I wish you success in your endeavor.
Fatastic! You know, if the community doesn’t want you to help them, they are making a big mistake. I can’t think of another person, besides myself, who would better serve anyone’s community. You really have to care about the people you serve, no matter their political affiliation, and that’s what counts. These sideshows that current politicians are putting on don’t serve people, they simply serve to stifle the process.
Good Luck!
It’s a shame that you did not win but don’t allow this to set you back. You would be a valuable addition to the political scene in your area.
If there is one thing that I firmly (politically) believe, it is that orientation should never be a political angle. Gay or straight, black or white, male or female: our strong points should be based on what we have achieved and what we intend to achieve rather than what we are born.