I recently finished reading a book written by Erik Hatch, Play for the Person Next to You. In this book he talks about servant leadership. There is a chapter that really resonated with me. The chapter discusses trust instead of transaction when formulating relationships.

The chapter discusses how Hatch has worked on building relationships with his team members and his clients that is based on trust, rather than a relationship based on a transaction. He starts off with a story about how he’s asked if he would be willing to have coffee with someone, and at the end, it ends up that the person who asked him to coffee asks him to purchase whatever service or product they are selling.

The philosophy I carry is to development meaningful relationships with people I meet. As I entered this campaign, I had already formed a relationship with some of my neighbors. I started an email list for the neighborhood to increase communication and awareness of what is happening in our neighborhood. Through this communication, the relationship grew. I feel that my neighbors are comfortable with coming to me with their questions and concerns, and they are comfortable with me representing them at meetings to voice any of those concerns, or ask those questions. If there’s one thing I’m not a fan of while campaigning, it is the transactional relationship that is created. When I ask for a signature to get on the ballot, I try to plant the seed of a relationship where people feel comfortable in approaching me, knowing that I will listen to them.

My commitment as Commissioner is that I will do what I can to build a relationship with the Residents. I want what I have in my neighborhood with the whole city.