InTucker Magazine

From the Mayor

My time as Mayor has mostly felt more like a sprint than a marathon. There’s been so much to do, we haven’t had a minute to spare, so I haven’t spent much time reflecting. But as I approach the end of my third and final term as Mayor, I’ve been asked a lot about what I’m most proud of, what I’d like to be remembered for, and what I’ll remember as our accomplishments. And so I have begun to reflect a little about where we’ve been, where we are, and all that’s taken place over these ten years.

When we began, we had three sets of competing priorities: We were literally starting from scratch, with no city hall or even an office to work from. We had no staff, no ordinances, no way to collect taxes or fees, nothing but seven newly elected officials and a city charter. And yet, we had the duties of any regular city to perform, starting on day one. We inherited zoning matters that were on a timetable and we had to hold hearings and make decisions. We had public safety responsibilities (there was a murder at the old Wooden Nickel Pub overnight on the night I was sworn in), roads to take care of, and many other immediate duties. And beyond that, we had a vision for things that needed to be attended to and improved around the city, including parks, beautification of our rights of way and public spaces, making ourselves attractive for new residents and businesses, and much more. We had no choice but to take on all three at full speed, and all at the same time.

As I look back across all we’ve accomplished, I can’t point to one thing that I would choose as that overworked term, “my legacy”. Yes, we’ve created and restored and built some great parks and public spaces, like the Rec Center, Fitzgerald Field, and the brand-new Tucker Town Green. We’ve paved something like 130 miles of roads, installed several miles of new sidewalks, and built the first segments of an ambitious trail system. We’ve improved the look and feel of downtown and brought in new businesses all around the city. I love to hear from people who knew Tucker in years gone by, but are blown away when they see it anew. But I think the two greatest accomplishments, and the two that will have the most lasting impact are less tangible.

First, we have been extraordinarily successful at placemaking, That is, while many people knew of a place called Tucker previously, Tucker has now become a place where people want to be, and a place where they know what to expect when they come. My expression of that has been that we want to be a place where a person can live, work, play and pray for their whole life – the length of it and the breadth of it. A real hometown, where a person can choose to do all of those things with their neighbors and in a very manageable geographic area. The average age of our population has declined significantly, and that’s not only a reflection of our success, but one of the most significant reasons for confidence in our future.

And secondly, we have focused from the beginning on getting the processes right. That means conducting ourselves with integrity, respecting our citizens, and establishing our character as a city in a way that will serve as an example for the years and leaders to come. We quite literally kept front of mind the fact that everything we did for the first time (which was pretty much everything!), would instantly be “the way we’ve always done it”. We were very conscious to do them in a way we’d be proud to have them done for the rest of our lives.

And so, as we come to one of our last firsts, that is, electing and installing a new mayor for the first time since the beginning, I hope and believe we’re leaving behind a city and a government that will stand the test of time and remain a point of pride for all of us. It’s been a joy and an honor, and I look forward to encouraging and cheering on the leadership that will move that legacy forward.