Fellow Takoma Park Residents,

It has been a real pleasure to serve as your City Councilmember the last two years. As you may already know, I am running for re-election. Together we have accomplished a great deal and made Takoma Park more of what we all want it to be. Some examples include: The City government electricity is now 100% wind power; crime is reduced; the Old Town streetscape has been improved and a great new restaurant has opened; we have fought for more reasonable development at the Metro site and Montgomery College; we have worked with our DC counterparts to get the “Ecco Park” site developed and recently they have broken ground; the new fire station is on its way to completion; city staff is more responsive than ever; and we have begun the process to redevelop New Hampshire Ave. It has been a busy few years!

I am sure that you agree that there is still much more we need to do to live up to our ideals. Certain crimes, in particular car theft and break-ins, continue to persist despite strong efforts by the police department. Our Old Town shopping district continues to have vacancies. Full funding for the Purple Line is critical. New Hampshire Ave needs to fully developed so that it can be an economic engine and a strong generator of new tax revenue. We need to get a fairer shake from the County on tax rebates. And more must be done to fight climate change and once again make Takoma Park an environmental leader.

So looking at the next two years with the goal of preserving the good of what we have and further improving our community, I believe we need to focus on:

• Safe Neighborhoods
• A "Greener Takoma"
• Fair Taxation
• Community-Driven Development
• Responsive and Efficient City Government

I ask for your support and your vote on Tuesday, November 3rd. I do not purport to have all the answers to the issues we face and I look forward to continuing our discussion on how to improve our City. In addition, and more importantly, I look forward to working with you and others to turn the ideas from those conversations into actions to achieve the outcomes we want. I will be coming door-to-door over the next few weeks to check in, but if I miss you I can be reached at 301.312.2717 or joshlwright@gmail.com.

Thanks for your time and commitment to our community,

Josh Wright