On the Campaign Trail for Mayor of Mayfield Heights... Week 13- Candidates Night!

This is my opening and closing to The Candidates Night that took place on Tuesday, September 24, 2013- Thank you to those who attended, especially to my family and friends!

My Opening Statement:

Many of you are here today to hear about what the candidates stand for, what we will promise you that we will provide for the residents of our city. The truth of the matter is that this is your opportunity to see who each of us really are, this forum gives you a real chance to see our personalities, see our strengths, and our weaknesses. Anybody can read a piece of literature and see that I will make safety my top priority, or improve the rental housing, but looking at a piece of paper does not show you the human qualities you will find in a good Mayor.

Tonight, I want you to see my strengths, my decisiveness, my willingness to serve my city and the residents of this city, and the true devotion I have given to serving my community and schools over my entire adult lifetime, living in this great city for 30 years. Tonight I want you to see that Donna Finney truly stands for the future of Mayfield Heights; it is now time to move forward and give the residents back what they want, a Mayor who will truly serve them 24/7, a Mayor who will give our city strong leadership and really pay attention to the residents needs.  This city deserves a Mayor who will run the city like a business, while meeting the needs of the entire community, in a timely fashion.

This election should not be a popularity contest, we all know many of you personally, this election is about choosing the person who will move Mayfield Heights forward and completely serve the residents and businesses. Many of you want to go back to the good old days, back to the “way things were before…” I want to move the city forward, to be progressive, yet the truth is, I wish every day I could go back to November 4th this past year and give my son Morris one more hug. He died suddenly on the morning of November 5th, 2012. The bizarre part is that this is also my daughter Jessica’s birthday. Yes, it is the same day as this election. Losing my beloved son made me realize that I have the time to completely and fully serve our city.  My job over the past 8 years was to be the Council Member who returned your phone calls and truly helped each person with their issues. My job was to keep gas wells out of our city park, and implement a nuisance law to help landlords get rid of tenants who are a problem in our community.  My job was to keep our taxes low while maintaining excellent city services. Our job together is to look toward the future of Mayfield Heights and pick leadership who will be decisive, who will be strong, who will serve the city on a 24/7 basis and who will make our great city even greater. Our Job together is to choose a Mayor that will have a plan and vision for our city. That is why I am urging each of you to vote Finney for the future of Mayfield Heights and let’s work together to keep our city vibrant.

My Closing Statement

 Believe me, I too wish we could go back to the good old days, who would not want to see the Giant Slide, Uncle Bills or the Roller Palace once more, but this is not our reality. Reality is about moving forward, looking toward the future and future generations. Turning to my two daughters, their husbands and my granddaughter and seeing what I can do to better their lives, make sure that your children and grandchildren want to live in our city and raise their families in this city and attend our great schools. Our job is to look toward the future of Mayfield Heights and pick leadership who will be decisive, who will be strong, who will serve the city on a 24/7 basis . Our job together is to choose a Mayor that will have a plan and vision for our city. Our job is to choose a leader that will keep our city strong, moving forward toward the future. That is why I am urging each of you to vote Finney for the future of Mayfield Heights and let’s work together to build back the trust you deserve in your leadership.