The official results of the 2015 Cambridge City Council election confirmed that I finished 6th in #1 votes (1307) and was the 4th (out of 9) to reach the winning quota of votes (1786).
First off, my heartfelt thanks to everyone who encouraged me to run, believed in my capacity to do this work, coached and supported me along the way, and volunteered to canvas, make calls and host events. And especially to all the friends and family who understood why I had to put the rest of my life on hold to succeed as a first-time candidate.
Two weeks post-Election Day, I am still accustoming myself to my new identity of “councillor-elect.” As the only challenger in of a field of 23 to win a seat in this election, I will be the lone freshman when I take office on January 4th. I took a week off in San Francisco to visit my two older children and to recharge mentally and physically. Now, I’m back home and my calendar is quickly filling up with meetings to discuss my new responsibilities and my priorities — and I’m hearing from many of you about yours.
In preparing myself to serve I’m eager to get past the talk about “divides” and to focus on the big issues we will face together as councillors at a pivotal time in our city’s history. Building working relationships and trust with my new colleagues will take time and effort on all sides.
One of my first priorities is to develop a communication platform and to set a schedule for office hours, so that I can honor my campaign pledges to increase transparency, accountability and civic engagement. I welcome any suggestions you may have for keeping you apprised of issues before the Council and for hearing your concerns and ideas. Please email me directly at jan@jandevereux.org.
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