LETTER: Councilman Wants to Work with New Colleagues
May 6, 2010
TO THE EDITORS OF THE FALLS CHURCH TIMES:
As I sit and reflect on the outcome of this week’s election I must say that our citizens have spoken and now it is time for us to put our personal issues aside and get to work to make sure that the City of Falls Church continues to be the strong and vibrant city that we all love.
This has been a challenging two years that I have served on Council with one of the largest budget shortfalls, the water lawsuits, and the election change debate. To put it simply, I received a crash course in local government and politics. I have been on both the popular and unpopular sides of issues since being on Council. I will tell you that every vote I have cast has been because I think it will help the people in our city in some way. Before I make any final decision on a vote I always reach out to citizens on both sides of an issue and I read all the comments on it.
Yesterday’s results show how even more important it will be to listen to our citizens’ comments and incorporate them into our deliberations. But I must also stress the importance of being able to work with all of my colleagues on Council in a civil way. That is one of the problems with politics that often we would rather “one up” someone instead of working together for the best outcome for our citizens and community.
I want to congratulate my new colleagues Ron Peppe, Ira Kaylin, and Johannah Barry on their election and Dave Snyder on his re-election to Council. I pledge to work with each of them during what continues to be tough economic times. We may not agree on everything, but at the end of the day we all do agree that the City of Falls Church is a place that we all love and will fight to make sure that it is here for future generations to enjoy.
LAWRENCE WEBB
Letters to the Editor should be submitted to contact@fallschurchtimes.com. They may be on any subject relevant to our City. Writers should include their full name and city of residence. All submissions are subject to editing.
By (see byline)
May 6, 2010
Mr. Webb, thanks for the contribution, hope you will be a regular visitor. One thing I have noticed about how you perform your role on City Council……you seem very deliberative. Looks like you actually stop, think and reflect before you speak your words. I like that.
Watch out Lawrence, you will get the label “lock-n-step”….
Lawrence- thanks for the congrats, but, more importantly, putting the “working together” part out there. As many people know, that was the main theme during this election. Right after the election, I spoke with each of the new and existing council members, and was happy to hear each one of us affirm that commitment. I am looking forward to working with you and learning from you when we get started!
Ron