As you probably know I’m running for City Council in the Second Ward in Northfield. I want to take a moment to talk about what being on City Council would mean to me.
Although I’m new to politics, I’ve been to almost every City Council meeting since I’ve lived in Northfield. I’ve always been active in my community and I am a participant, not a spectator. I attend City Council meetings because I care about Northfield and I like to know what’s going on in my community. I like to know how my tax dollars are being spent and what our elected officials are up to.
I am also the President of the Democratic Party of Northfield.
I was appointed to the Northfield Planning and Zoning Board in January and love learning about development in our fair city. The Planning Board allows me to learn more about the more technical aspects of planning, permitting, zoning and construction and it allows me to keep in touch with another aspect of our town.
My wife, daughter and I are active members of St. Bernadette’s Church, we attend Parish Council meetings, we volunteer and most recently have been asked to participate in the Parish Fund Raising Committee.
I want to be a member of City Council because I like what they do and I want to be a part of it.
City Council is about working together as a team and it shouldn’t be about partisan politics–especially on the local level. Residents don’t care about divisive, negative politics. They just want to know that their money isn’t being spent carelessly, that the roads are paved, that the streets don’t flood and that their kids can walk safely down our streets (among other things).
In a town of 7,000 registered voters, we shouldn’t waste time on negativity and partisan politics–there’s no time for that. We need to focus our efforts on the resident’s interests and eliminate the time and effort wasted on negativity and mud-slinging.
My pledge to you is that, if elected, I will work diligently with every member of City Council regardless of their political affiliation to affect change. I will do everything I can to keep Northfield great and make Northfield even better. I will work with the resident’s interests at heart and I will have a 100 percent open door, transparent policy. As the old saying goes “sunshine is the best disinfectant.”
There’s no time for negativity, lies and slander in local politics–or any politics for that matter. The residents don’t like it and it’s insulting to their intelligence.
Since I entered this race I’ve been investigated, slandered and the victim of a vicious smear campaign by my opponent. Many people have told me that he’s run the most negative campaign in Northfield’s history. Is that who you want up on the dais in City Hall? This is not why I got into politics. In fact, dirty politics is probably the main reason why there’s very few people willing to run for office.
The good thing is that the residents of Northfield are intelligent and they’re aware of what’s going on. My opponent’s dirty, eleventh-hour attempts to knock me down have backfired.
I hope that you’ll consider all the facts and vote with your heart and your mind on Tuesday. I look forward to seeing you at the polls.
- Jason O’Grady