A is for approachable. Mayoral Candidate Kim Salmon is Approachable

Over the last 2 1/2 weeks I have had a crash course in the Garwood Political scene. I have never had an interest in politics but I do care about people. I am especially passionate about standing up for what is right, especially supporting the underdog.

I was alerted by 2 different Garwood residents of a devious plan by Jen Blumenstock , Marc Lazaro and Sara Todisco to quickly and illegally pass a town ordinance that would trample on the rights of every homeowner in Garwood.

I immediately attempted to meet with every town council member, the mayor, the town administrator and the police chief to try an understand the issues.

I learned about this devious plan at 7:30 at night. Not only had I never met the mayor or anyone on the town council I had no idea how to get in touch with them. I did know that my next door neighbor Marc Lazaro was on the town council. I immediately went next door and knocked on Marx Lazaro’s door. Marc answered and when I asked if we could talk he said, “no” and that he was eating dinner and couldn’t talk. When I asked if we could talk when he was finished eating he said “no”, he had to make a call. He still to this day will not speak to me about the short term rental issue he so freely talked about at several town council meetings.

I DO NOT want a man who is not approachable representing our town. Marc Lazaro is NOT approachable.

The next morning I looked for phone numbers but could only find 3 email addresses on the town website. After several hours of not hearing any response from any town council members, I went to the town office to speak with the town administrator. Kyle invited me into his office. He told me that the mayor and the 2 other gentleman who sit on town council had emailed him to say they had gotten an email from me asking if he knew anything about it.

Why would these 2 people not respond to me and contact Kyle instead?

Is it that they want to get their stories straight before speaking with me?

Kyle emailed me the email addresses of the other town council members. Councilwoman Salmon, responded to my email within minutes. She apologized that she would not be able to speak with me because she had been told by the town attorney that she could not speak on this matter because she is a realtor. I asked what that had to do with a proposed ordinance that would affect every single property owner??? Again, she apologized that she was not permitted to speak with me.

I think it is fishy that Blumenstock, who is running for mayor, was allowed to talk about her opinions on short term rentals and try to push through an ordinance yet the other woman who is running for Mayor, Kim Salmon, has been silenced to share her opinions, experience and stance on short term rental. This sounds fishy.

This sounds like bias. This seems unethical.

A couple of days later after I had done quite a bit of research and talked to many people in the town I realized that the future of Garwood is at stake. I began to study

• what each Mayoral candidate stood for
• how they made decisions
• how and if their words aligned with their actions

One thing I was beginning to see was that Jen Blumenstock and her running mate Marc Lazaro do NOT have the qualities needed to run an up and coming town and to keep it free from lies and potential lawsuits.

I needed to learn more about Mayoral Candidate, Kim Salmon. I sent Kim Salmon a letter and asked if I could learn more about why she is running for Mayor and why she thinks she should be voted in. I wanted to meet with her and I promised I would not ask any questions about short term rentals as she had been clear that she was being forced to keep silent on her stance. Kim Salmon’s response is what surprised me. Kim invited me to follow her and her running mates around the community as they knocked on doors talking with neighbors.

I was blown away! Kim Salmon is smart as a whip. Kim listens. She didn’t interrupt. Kim was not afraid when people challenged her on something they didn’t agree with her on. Kim carefully explained her stance on any issue and why the ideas that supported her stance. She didn’t get defensive. I learned through that experience that Kim Salmon is passionate about the town of Garwood and it's residents. Kim understands our town finances, how grants work and the importance of not over spending and adding to our debt. Kim has ideas about how to create revenue so increased health benefit costs for our town employees can be handled. Kim cares about the safety of our kids and the fixed incomes of our retirees. Kim knows other town council members and employees and how they handle various situations. Kim is a sponge - she was able to answer every question each resident asked her. Kim is eager to hear what others say and she is passionate about protecting property owners.

Kim thinks like a business executive and Garwood needs a Mayor leading our town who considers the future of our town when making decisions. Kim Salmon cares about keeping our taxes low for our seniors, believes in investing in healthy recreation for our kids AND knows how to lead and how to work with the people around her. We need someone who is honest and doesn’t ramble from the dais and brag about how many votes they got in an election. We need someone who puts people over politics we need someone who is approachable.

If you want someone who is approachable and is an active listener leading our town

vote for Kim Salmon!