During his time as councilman, John Partridge has shown many excellent qualities of leadership. As chairman of the finance committee and as a member of the Municipal Services Committee, he provides solid and sensible leadership.
His most well-known example of leadership as a councilman, of course, is the creation of the Auburn Valley Humane Society. His vision, planning, collaboration, fund-raising and coordination with various City agencies all culminated in a functioning, independent and self-funding organization that is improving life in Auburn for both its pets and its residents.
John’s ability to turn a vision into action and action into reality is something that has been sorely missing in Auburn since we moved here in 2005.
Also missing in the recent past has been an open, communicative city government. Too many projects seem to appear with little or no public input (see the new promenade for evidence). The present government structure of “strong mayor” and obedient deputy mayor creates an atmosphere of power and secrecy that makes City Hall a generally unfriendly place to visit.
John Partridge has shown that he will break that pattern. I recently spoke to John about a small business owner who was struggling to get the City to provide help in finding her way through new licensing and building requirements. Up until then, she was unable to get constructive responses from anyone at City Hall. Even a visit to the mayor himself resulted in obfuscation and patronizing responses. After my call, John took it upon himself to visit the business owner, find out the nature of the problem and contact the appropriate City agencies who, in turn, contacted her. When have you heard of any other councilmember taking such a proactive approach?
John’s experience as an independent business man also makes him an excellent candidate for mayor. He knows the value of careful planning, budgeting and serving the clients. The mayor of Auburn should be “one of us,” someone who is interested in serving all of us, not just the select few.
John “gets it” in a way that our current mayor or his deputy never have. Auburn citizens are the mayor’s clients, not faceless, nameless blanks who need to just keep quiet and stay out of the way.
Finally, John is an Auburn native, an active member of the community and an Auburn High graduate. His three daughters all graduated from AHS as well.
From his participation in the Miss Auburn Scholarship Pageant, to his strong moral beliefs and his devotion to physical fitness, to his overall visibility in the community, and to his business experience and communication skills, John Partridge rises far above the other candidates for mayor.
Voting for John Partridge will be a vote for real change and progress in Auburn. The other candidates offer either “same ol’, same ol’,” or absolutely no experience in city government, business or leadership. If you really want Auburn to be “more than you imagined,” you will vote for John Partridge for mayor.
– John Pinsker
