Announcements that someone is running for political office all sound pretty similar. I would know how to write one of those. In many ways I long to write one of those.

For, I would love to serve on City Council. I even have the experience and knowledge that suggests I would be qualified to do so: two terms on a City Commission, I can tell you what POSO, ZBA, and CERT all stand for (Pedestrian Only Shopping Overlay, Zoning Board of Appeals, and Citizens Emergency Response Team for the record).  

The catch is that bar of experience and knowledge is low enough that there are a lot of people who can cross over it. It’s one of the parts of Highland Park I love best. We just have an incredible number of dedicated citizens who believe in service. What all those dedicated means is that where desire, knowledge, and experience is enough to get someone elected in many towns, it’s not enough in Highland Park. Highland Park can demand more of the people who serve on its City Council.  

It’s that something more that means I won’t be running for City Council come April 2013.  I don’t have the personal wealth to run for City Council and I don’t yet have the base of supporters who can help me overcome that. When the voters look at me and ask about the something more I can provide them, I don’t know that I yet have a great answer for them.

So instead of attempting to serve on City Council, I look forward to finding other ways to serving the City that I love. This being Highland Park there is no shortage of opportunities to serve and make a difference for our community.

I wish the three announced candidates for City Council, Dan Kaufman, Alyssa Knobel, Kim Stone, and any who announce in the upcoming weeks the best of luck. I hope the race is positive one for both the voters and the candidates.

What I don’t have to hope for is that it will net us three qualified new City Council members. This is Highland Park, one doesn’t have to hope for that, one can expect it.