11/03/2025
Harry's newsletter yesterday asks "What would a perfect day in Ward One look like?" How would you answer that?
I like to say that we live in the most beautiful part of the most beautiful city in the most beautiful state in the whole wide world.
But the truth is that weâre not perfect. Iâm running because I believe Annapolis can be even better. So, what would a perfect day in Ward One look like?
Well, youâd wake up in a beautiful home you can afford. For some people, that means their mortgage, for others their rent, and for still others itâs being able to keep paying property taxes that have risen as home values have shot up. Letâs cut the tax rate for everybody.
Now, this part might seem gross, but our senior alderman once told me that the most important thing city government does is âClean water in, and dirty water out.â Heâs right, but on a perfect day, you donât think about it. The tap and the toilet are run so reliably and efficiently that what would have been a miracle for 99% of human history is entirely unremarkable. For that to happen, we need representatives with the courage and expertise to properly fund our infrastructureânot financial gimmicks to make it look like theyâre being fiscally conservative while pushing the burden onto the next guy.
First thing after that is a little exercise. Your group of neighbors meets at the street-end park to launch kayaks. Oh no! Somebody fell in! I guess itâs not his perfect day. But heâs still alright, because weâve cleaned up our creeks so the water wonât make you sick. It took strict environmental regulations and smart investments in green infrastructure, but an environmentalist city council made this a priority.
A coffee is the last thing you need to start the day, so you stop into one of the local businesses downtown where the barista knows your order as soon as you walk in. Businesses all around are bustling this morning now that weâve gotten City Dock done and stopped the flooding. So, you enjoy your coffee on a bench in the new park that overlooks our sparkling Chesapeake Bay.
And that coffee didnât cost you an arm and a leg because weâve streamlined the permitting process so the business could open in two months instead of two years. Businesses and homeowners alike now have template applications, a clear tracking system, and helpful city employees. That time that used to get wasted was money out of your pocket!
On a perfect day, weâll all have something meaningful to do. For some of us, itâs a good job in the marine or environmental restoration industries that have been thriving in Annapolis. For others, itâs volunteering. You used to help people figure out parking at the visitor center, but thatâs not needed anymore. So, you spend the day giving tours of Annapolisâ incredible historic buildings that have been preserved and lovingly restored in partnership between individuals, nonprofits, and government.
When you get back home, the kids or the grandkids are waiting for you. They were able to walk home from school because weâve made our roadways safer by enforcing traffic laws and investing that revenue into pedestrian safety infrastructure. And pretty soon theyâre riding their bikes over to play soccer on the well-managed fields.
Which means you get to meet your friends at that new Thai/Italian fusion place that opened a few blocks away, or maybe at the beloved local spot youâve been going to for 50 years. Either way, the food is great, and the company is better. Laughing at a treasured, shared memory, you glance up at the stars and think âThis is what life is all aboutâ.
As youâre walking back homeâmaybe swaying just a littleâyou donât have to worry about the sidewalks being uneven. As a neighbor told me yesterday, âI used to say Iâd run for office on a platform of âsidewalks my mother can walk onââ. Me too, Michael.
Nor, do you have to worry about crime because an appropriately-staffed police department has implemented their community policing model so everyone can count on feeling safe in their communities while having their civil liberties protected. Plus, the streetlights are working.
After stopping to chat with your new neighbor who bought that house that used to be a short-term rental, you waltz in the front door, settle into your favorite comfy armchair, and think âHey, isnât there a city council meeting tonight?â You know all about the agenda thanks to your alderman who sent out a helpful newsletter the day before. You even helped him write one of the bills at the town hall he held before introducing it.
When the TV flips on to that familiar view of council chambers, there are nine people sitting up there who you trust. Some of them see the world a little differently than you do. Some of their constituents have different priorities than you and your neighbors. But you know that all of them are giving up sitting in their comfy armchairs with their families because they want you to have more perfect days.
Youâre absolutely sure of that because on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, you voted to make it happen.
