Why vote for Stacy Miller?

Why should you vote for Stacy Miller for Ferndale City Council? First a few facts:

• “About 13.3% of families and 16.8% of the (Ferndale) population were below the poverty line, including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.” (Wikipedia)
• The web site NWGangs.com lists 18 gangs that it claims have a presence in Whatcom County. Ferndale is one of the cities where some of these gangs are said to be present.
• My discovery of a syringe on my own property tells me that there is drug abuse going on in my neighborhood.

These are just a few facts that indicate Ferndale is not the quaint, idyllic little community of yesteryear, if it was ever that. My travels in and about Ferndale reveal more than a few people walking around who appear afflicted with mental illness and/or are homeless. The late night/early morning inebriated tirades and domestic conflicts punching through my sleep fogged mind on hot summer nights from across the street further reinforce the knowledge that Ferndale is just another typical small American city.

The thing is I want Ferndale to be better than typical. Now we can stick our collective heads in the sand and pretend that these social issues will go away if we ignore them. They won’t.

Ferndale has a pretty active and motivated business community. In fact, the majority of our city council members seem to be heavily pro-business. Not a bad thing in and of itself. They seem to be pro public safety as well, judging by our new police station. While the water issues have ticked off a fair number of city residents, I for one believe that the council’s original intent was to save us all money. The hard water surprised them as much as anyone.

What I don’t see on the council though is someone whose primary interest is looking at the social issues confronting Ferndale. We’ve got people looking out for business, for public safety, and lord knows there are more than a couple fiscal conservatives there making sure that we get our money’s worth.

This is where I think Stacy Miller comes in. Stacy has a long history of service in  business, government, and the non-profit world. She is intimately aware of the costs and benefits of confronting and not confronting social issues. She is a realist. She knows that Ferndale doesn’t have the fiscal resources to support a social service bureaucracy. She also recognizes that ignoring these social issues will not make them go away.

So, what can Stacy do for us? She can seek ways for the city to work effectively and efficiently with non-profits and other governmental bodies to face the social issues confronting Ferndale. She can provide the leadership our community needs to make a better Ferndale. I urge you to vote for Stacy Miller for Ferndale City Council on November 5th.