Today marked the end of my first official week of campaigning. During this week I have visited the City Council meetings of Newcastle (July 12), Norman (July 13) and Noble (July 19). I was able to introduce myself to all three city councils and hear some of the issues facing these fine cities.
I enjoyed the opportunities that I had to visit with the city councils, listen to their meeting proceedings and speak with the people attending. I really look forward to meeting more of the citizens of these fine cities.
Unfortunately, I noticed, despite the wonderful people attending, there was an unfortunate lack of community involvement. Newcastle had about 10 people from the community attending, out of a population of 7,400. Norman had between 20 and 30 people attending out of a population of 111,357. Noble had 4 people attend out of a population of 5,700. It is unfortunate that so few people are taking an interest in the direction of the cities they call home.
I will admit that I do not attend all city council meetings here in Newcastle, but I have tried to attend as often as I am able. I wish more people would take the initiative to attend and help guide the direction of their cities. We as citizens have as much right to direct the affairs of our cities as those we elected. We should exercise that right.
