Dear Neighbors,
-Yolanda Adrean-
Politics too often is about differences, the things that divide us. At community meetings and meet-and-greets in our neighbors’ homes, what has emerged clearly is how much we are in agreement. I’ve had the opportunity to hear where you stand on the issues facing Atlanta and listen to your positive solutions. There is a clear consensus here in District 8. If you send me to work for you at City Hall, this consensus gives me my to-do list. This is the work I will do for you. I CAN DO THIS JOB FOR YOU. I have been deeply involved in our neighborhood life and its civic issues for over a decade, as President of the Mt. Paran – Northside Citizens Association, as an advocate for property tax relief (developing financial analyses for the public schools, ultimately resulting in a 1 mill decrease in 2008), and raising over $250,000 in private contributions to renovate Fire Station 27. I represent our neighborhood on the Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods. I have served on the Tax Allocation District Advisory Committee for the Atlanta Beltline, keeping watch over the money. I was a founding member, President, and Treasurer of the Neighborhood Parent Teacher Organization, supporting students with profound emotional and behavioral issues or autism. I am also a CPA, formerly with Ernst and Young. I know how to balance the books. I know what our neighborhoods need in order to thrive.
Financial stability and long-term planning: economic stability demands good decision-making, yet our city government lacks the basic technical capacity to write and follow a budget. Fixing the accounting mess at City Hall is a priority. To protect you from a future of ever-rising property taxes, we must grow our tax base, and to do that we need to be competitive with other Southern cities and with surrounding counties; by changing the corporate culture at City Hall, we can make Atlanta a more attractive place to do business. That means competence at every level of government. Small business owners know all too well that they get better services at more affordable prices in adjacent counties. That must stop.
Public safety: crime diminishes quality of life for all Atlantans as well as visitors traveling here for conventions, tourism and business. While violent crime may be down, property crimes are up, and many neighborhoods and businesses are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on private security. We need investments in our public safety that are strategic, and we need new leadership to get the job done. It is not enough to throw more money at a department without a careful measurement of results.
Traffic, greenspace, and water: traffic is unmanageable. We cannot handle multiple simultaneous events with our existing infrastructure. Hours are spent in wasted commutes, not to mention the pollution that is created with choked roadways. Gridlocking “hot spots” choke passage in and out of our neighborhoods, and we are plagued by shoddy road repairs and plates over excavations that never seem to be completed. It is simply not safe to walk or ride a bicycle in many parts of town.
Maintaining and expanding the greenspace, parks and trees in our communities are needed to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods. They provide the space we need to connect with neighbors, play with our kids and engage in active lifestyles.
Atlanta needs to be a leader in developing a long-term strategy to managing the scarcity of water resources for our growing city. We must partner with other counties, the state and federal government to come up with a long-term sustainability plan, and we shouldn’t have to pay more than our fair share. Watershed management must be better managed. Complaints from citizens and businesses seem to go unheard, and the cost of the department grows unchecked, even though we pay water bills among the highest in the country.
I work tirelessly, and I will bring my energy, my training, and my understanding of District 8 to this job at a critical time.
I need your vote. Please vote for me, Yolanda Adrean, for City Council on Tuesday, November 3.
Feel free to phone me if you have any questions or if you want to talk about the challenges we face. My home number is 404-261-4593. My email is Yolanda@YolandaAdrean.com. Thank you.
Best regards,
Yolanda Adrean
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 -Sandy Springs City Council Representative-
-Karen McEnerny and Edward Lindsey,- -Georgia House Representative- |
| Campaign Committee of Friends and Neighbors of Yolanda Adrean: Co-chairs: Michael Wagoner (pictured) Mark Elliott Treasurer: Lynne Moscow |
 - Yolanda with Co-Chair, Michael Wagoner -
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