By Tara McGovern, Coralville
A city does not run on autopilot. If a city council is not engaged and proactive, people with too much power and too little accountability make bad decisions that affect everyone.
I cannot take a candidate seriously who refuses to acknowledge that our city’s $36,000 contract with a private AI surveillance company that puts our most vulnerable friends and neighbors at risk was negotiated outside of public view and does not meet the guidelines of our city’s purchasing policies.
I cannot take a candidate seriously who answers a question about what our city is doing to address our housing crisis by pointing at 34 “affordable” housing units that are planned in a new development without also mentioning that 34 low-income housing units were destroyed and the immigrants living there were displaced.
I really cannot take a candidate seriously who doesn’t know what unions are or why they’re important.
We don’t have time for candidates who parrot blurbs that are disconnected from reality or who refuse to acknowledge the serious disrepair of our city. Rich people being happy isn’t an illustration of a working democracy.
I met Katie Freeman in our work together on the Johnson County Trans Advisory Committee. Our friendship has grown out of mutual respect for our service to the community and our commitment to amplifying the needs of people under attack by our state government.
I met Ryan Swenka when I sat next to him at a city council meeting where we all learned with dismay how badly our electeds and city staff had failed to protect us. Our friendship has grown out of our belief that a better Coralville is not only possible but can be achieved through collective action.
Please join me in voting for Ryan Swenka for Coralville Mayor and Katie Freeman for Coralville City Council on or before Nov. 4 if you believe as I do that democracy demands engaged, proactive leaders who intimately understand and are motivated to act on the concerns of their constituents.
