My Remarks after taking Oath of Office as City Councilmember

On May 10, 2021 I was sworn in as Highland Park Councilmember for a four-year term. Here are my brief remarks.

As I thought about what I wanted to share on this day, four words came to mind: gratitude, service, collaboration, and vision

Gratitude.

It takes a village to get elected. So every service term must begin with thank yous.

• I first want to thank my wife Lori and our daughter Marisela for the love and support that can only come from family who believe in you.
• Thank you to my campaign advisors, staff and volunteers – too many to name in this brief moment — who worked on the myriad details that campaigns require. I have received advice, coaching and insights throughout this campaign that only made me better. 
• Thank you for those who voted for me and endorsed me to their networks.
• Thank you to Mayor Rotering and members of the current Council – I look forward to working with you. Special thanks to Councilmen Alyssa Knobel and Dan Kaufman for your service to the community; you leave a lasting positive legacy. Congratulations to the new elected officials – I look forward to working with you as well. 

Service.

To be selected a Councilmember is to temporally take a seat at the table that belongs to the residents of our great City. It’s humbling and there is no greater honor to have been chosen to fill one of these places. I take a seat aware that every deliberation, every idea, every decision, every vote must be processed and taken through the filter of what is best for our residents and businesses.

Collaboration.

To recover, rebuild, and reimagine our post-Covid reality we need each other’s diversity more than ever. We need residents from all walks of life and our small business owners, corporate employers, landlords, nonprofits as well as our sister governments and our City Council to triple down on collaboration in a fully inclusive way to build on and accelerate the many good things already in motion to make our City as prosperous as we aspire for it to be.

Vision.

I have been so impressed by the professionalism our City Manager and her team and the elected officials and appointed Commissioners bring to the complexities of making our City run by the effective application of well-proven municipal best practices. The pandemic’s massive disruption in every area of life also have given us an opportunity to shape the next practices. In my native Peru we have a saying, Se hace el camino al andar. You make your path as you walk it. I look forward to joining in on our City’s current and emerging efforts to creatively envision new ways forward.

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So here I stand before you. Full of gratitude. And ready to serve, collaborate, and envision together for an even more vibrant Highland Park.  

Thank you!