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PUBLIC COMMENTS
The
purpose of this letter is to sincerely thank you for your recent vote and
support in my run for Cooper City Commissioner. In the time up to and preceding
the election, I came know many of you very well and in a very short time frame.
After you learn more about me, you will know that I am a strong person, a
good family man and I fully believe in what I stand for and what I represent.
I
was the only one challenging the incumbent along with the entire Commission, and
I knew that the core issue was, and remains, accessibility to government.
When people feel that their government is not listening, there is often a response
from the election booth such as the one last Tuesday.
Tuesday’s
victory belongs to the countless numbers of you that voted for the first time,
or the first time in a very long while. To the folks from all across the city
and county, from all kinds of political perspectives who decided it was time to
see your stake in your neighborhoods come to fruition, your friends and
neighbors’ dreams and struggles come to fruition, as well as your own. To each
one of you who decided to take a chance not on me, but on your own aspirations,
I applaud you.
Thanks
to you, not only did we win at the polls, we turned a political campaign into a
movement for positive change. And we did it against the huge odds, the old
fashioned way, by grit, hard work and determination, one person at a time, one
neighborhood at a time, one development at a time, reaching out and asking other
people to see the connection that you have with them and acting like citizens,
not just members of a certain party or movement, but members of a civilized
community.
You
knew that an outsider wasn't supposed to win without the blessing of the
insiders. You knew that a grassroots campaign wasn't supposed to win. But you
also knew that that's precisely the kind of politics we had to implement to
bring positive change to
You
all now know it's time for us all to get serious about our economy, about
building successful relationships
and businesses large and small, and making good jobs more plentiful across the
whole city and that it is just as critical to get serious about economic
justice. You know that it's time to get serious about delivering both internal
and external quality customer service, and dealing once and for all with
escalating taxes, fees and costs.
All
of you whom I have corresponded with and spoken to, have shown me a great deal
about yourselves and about this great city, which will tremendously help me on
the Commission to better serve you. In the face of blistering criticism,
personal attacks and accusations, extreme pressure from our elected officials
and our city staff, I stayed on course with my message and beliefs, and I stood
my ground without resorting to negativity.
I
addressed the issues and the attacks with truth and facts, not faltering as to
my purpose and as to why I ran for this position of public trust. Despite the
rage against me by some in the administration and their supporters, I took the
high road, and I intend to move forward, continue to be positive and always do
the right thing for all of the people of this city.
It
is the sweet harvest of the work of many tireless volunteers, young and old
alike, funded by many small contributors from every part of this city and
county. Those
who lingered on the brink of despair only a short time ago have been brought
into this campaign, heart, hand, head and soul, and I have been the beneficiary
and have directly witnessed first hand, the most remarkable political process in
the history of the world.
We
ran a competitive campaign, but even when things got a little heated, I never
doubted the sincere commitment to service that each of my supporters and friends
brought to this campaign, and that which I have brought to their lives. I
welcome their pledge of support and counsel in the coming weeks and in the
coming years, and I'm proud to be a member of a group of citizens that counts
them both among it's leaders, and I'm happy you're beside me.
My
campaign group was an organization that gives dramatic proof to the power of
love, and to a faith that can literally move mountains. As Yeats put it,
“Count where man’s glory most begins and ends, and say: My glory was I had
such friends.”
We
are entering a new period of important and hopeful change in
Make
no mistake; this election was about whether we want lasting and meaningful
change. It wasn’t about spinning our wheels, it was about aiming high. It
wasn’t about government by sound bite, gimmick, or slogan; it was about
leadership that strives to serve our long-term interests in stronger, healthier,
safer and more prosperous communities.
I
chose change. I chose hope. I chose to believe in what
Going
forward, I too want to be proud of
Thank
you all for being there with me, from the very beginning and on every single day
of this campaign over the few months. I've asked you to see this not as my
campaign, but as yours. Not just my chance to be Commissioner, but your chance,
our chance to reclaim our civic and political future, and that's why the recent
victory is yours. It's all yours. Again, thank you and
I truly look forward to working with all of you, and the current administration,
in order to bring positive change to
Best
Regards,
John
Sims
(954) 434-4300 Ext. 260