News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Nancy Connolly.
She took it down to the deadline in making her decision, but Nancy Connolly has thrown her hat into the ring for the race for Sisters City Council.
Connolly told The Nugget she was motivated "just by watching the process of what was happening last year with the amphitheater and Creekside Campground. The City wasn't being proactive about community involvement."
A proposal for an amphitheater and for the renovation of the campground both drew considerable fire from members of the public who thought they were being sprung on the community as "a done deal."
Considering herself "a private person," Connolly was in no hurry to get embroiled in local politics.
"I like my life the way it is," she said. "I'm not excited about giving up a lot of my free time and making half the people mad at me at any given time, and the next week making the other half mad, but ... you have to get involved. My concern is about the community being heard."
So, on "the last day... with just two people running, I filed my paperwork."
The field has rounded out to five candidates - Bob Wright (see story, page 19); Connolly, and incumbents David Asson; Wendy Holzman; and Brad Boyd.
Connolly's reluctance should not be misconstrued as lack of commitment: "It's not like there's a time constraint or that I'm out of town traveling a lot. I'm an honest, hardworking person - and if I commit, I'm in."
Connolly is currently on a short-time contract as a paraprofessional in the Sisters School District - work she's done in both Sisters and Redmond for the past 13 years. Paraprofessionals assist in the classroom to reinforce material and skills introduced by a teacher. The work often involves helping "at-risk" students.
Earlier in her career, Connolly worked as a community relations specialist for the City of Portland, acting as a liaison between property owners, businesses and tenants around the Transit Mall Extension Project. She also worked in business retention and recruitment in Portland. That work experience makes her very comfortable getting out into the community and hearing and processing a wide variety of viewpoints.
She believes she has a different background and intersection with the community from other candidates.
"I have a different base ... of people who trust me and know I value their input and comments," she said.
Community involvement and making sure a variety of ideas and input are heard is the keystone of Connolly's approach. She says that she does not have a specific policy agenda. She said her ideal is that "people would be able to attend meetings and provide their input without fear, that they would be listened to and respected... People I've spoken to in town have said, 'You can't afford to have an opinion.' And that's not fair; that's not right - it's not democracy."
Connolly wants to see the City's various committees brought to bear to vet ideas and policies - but she acknowledges that there is such a thing as too much process. She said the way to balance participation with the ability to get things done is setting clear, firm timelines and reaching out to ensure participation.
"I'm willing to go door-to-door," she said.
She also acknowledged that she has clashed with City Manager Andrew Gorayeb in the past, but insists that she would be able to work with him.
Connolly believes her education experience is a benefit in efforts to reach out to the public.
"It's about finding out how to motivate, encourage and get their participation," she said. "That's what I'm passionate about."
And she believes she has personal qualities that would serve her well as a councilor: "I'm a really good listener, and I'm a good mediator."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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