Shelby candidate says volunteers provide inspiration for community service

Editor:

Since I announced my candidacy for the position of Town of Shelby Supervisor, I have had the opportunity to visit with the members of the Shelby and East Shelby Volunteer Fire Companies.

These visits have prompted me to reflect more deeply on my view of “community” as a group of people with shared values. In the case of the fire companies, it does not matter what your political party is, what your religious beliefs are, whether you live in the village or out of village.  They may not always agree with each other but when the call is made, they come together for the good of the residents.

Most in our community do not become firefighters. Some give by coaching youth sports, becoming a teacher or joining another civic organization. For me I have decided to run for this position, using my 40+ managerial experience, to make a difference.

Make no mistake, we are facing that emergency call for our community. Taxes keep going up, vital services like the ambulance are in the balance, housing has become more expensive, a scarcity of good paying jobs and unless we act it will only get worse.

I am sure many of you are wondering how much longer you can afford to live here. Instead of looking to work with our neighbors for solutions, we have a town board where the 3-to-2 majority views the 48% of Shelby residents that live in the village adversaries. Last year they spent $141,000 in legal fees, of which tens of thousands were spent pursuing other board members or town employees.

My goal in running for office is to restore the element of trust in our local town government. In short, take the model of these volunteer organizations, working with others to reshape the Shelby Town Board to better serve our community.

Jim Heminway

Medina