Council meetings

Ms. Jackson, how many City Council meetings have you attended this year?  Have you made public comments at meetings?  Given your admission that you don’t know a lot about city finances I’m curious about how engaged you’ve been. Thank you.

Since deciding to run, I’ve attended all but one City Council meeting in person. I was out of town for training and missed the most recent meeting. I’ve also attended a police oversight meeting and watched several earlier City Council meetings online. While I have not commented at the meetings, I have listened, taken notes, screenshots of charts and followed up with research on many different topics discussed in the meetings. I’ve caught up on the city budget as well, though, like many residents, I’m still confused about how the current council managed it.

During the past 3 months I continued to work full time at my regular job at Cal Poly Humboldt PD, taught at the police academy, fulfilled the required hours for my job at the Sheriff’s Department, and started the final class in my master’s program in October. In addition to those commitments, I have spent as much time as possible being engaged in the community and campaigning. During Volunteer Month, I pulled weeds in Old Town, Sequoia, and Das Parks. I spent time shopping at the Henderson Center farmers market, tabled at two Arts Alive events and knocked on hundreds of doors throughout my ward, canvassing every Saturday and Sunday.

I’ve truly enjoyed the hard work, especially meeting people. I’ve had incredible conversations, been inside so many homes, and met wonderful residents, their kids, SO many dogs, and even a few cats. Getting to know people across the ward has been one of the best parts of this campaign.