A New Year . . . A New Term . . . A New Start

I haven’t posted to this blog since before the November election last year.  Please know that it was not because my gentle readers had slipped my mind.  

As you know, County Council members are citizen-legislators.  That means we continue our careers outside of public office while we serve as elected officials.  My “day job”, so to speak, is as an in-house attorney at a major corporation in St. Louis County.  My passion, however, is serving the good people of District 2 as their elected representative in Jefferson County.

Holding down two jobs can sometimes be hectic, but in 2012 a re-election campaign was added to the mix.  This amounted to three jobs, on top of being a wife and mother. 

Candidates are often told to “leave everything on the field” on Election Day.  I can honestly say I did this, because the day after the election, I was completely spent.  After the election, it was time to catch up – on household duties, on family responsibilities, on projects at work, and on constituent requests that came in during the final days of the campaign. 

 For the most part, I am caught up now.  It only took about eight weeks. 

While catching up on a personal level, my work on the Council continued.  In November and December, the Council held budget hearings and work sessions in addition to our regular council meeting schedule.  Last month we passed a balanced budget that funded the merit system, gave cost of living raises to county employees and allowed for the purchase of several new cars for the Sheriff’s Office. 

Specific to District 2, several traffic studies were completed in the final quarter of 2012. New stop signs, speed limits and traffic code adoptions were considered.  I attended two community meetings to discuss proposed road and speed limit changes, and addressed general questions about taxes which often arise at the end of each year.

In January, my second term on the council officially began.  I am happy to continue serving the people of my district, and am honored to have this opportunity.  I am grateful to all the people who helped make this opportunity possible.

In short, it’s as if I walked through the fire and am now on the other side.