I’m Running for Office Again!

This April I will finish my first term as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Town of Lyons, Colorado. I entered office not sure of the difference between an ordinance and a resolution. I knew Lyons was a statutory town, but I did not know there were four other types of municipalities in the state. About 2,250 people live in the 1.2 square miles of Lyons. Our town was incorporated in 1891.

I’ve learned much during  my first two years of government service. I have a great respect for our town administrator and employees, as well as the elected officials with whom I serve. I find it an honor to serve with our mayor, Hollie Rogan. She has led with efficiency, thoughtfulness, and a keen eye for what really matters. I hope I am able to serve with her for another two years.

Most of the time, our six trustee members have been on the same page as the mayor. We are focused on affordable housing, wildfire mitigation, and finding sources of revenue that do not unduly tax the members of our community. People value the quality of life they experience in Lyons, and love the supportive community that has been born of adversity, whether the devastating thousand-year flood in 2013, or wildfires north and south of town in 2020.

I have spent most of my life working in the religious non-profit world. For 35 years I was CEO and chair of a large and growing New York based non-profit.  I also taught as adjunct faculty or as a visiting instructor at seven colleges and seminaries. I have worked in the broadcasting world as an announcer at two radio stations and one television network. I coach with TEDxMileHigh and volunteer with TED. I’ve had the honor of speaking for both. I served as an editor-at-large for a publishing company, and published books with that company and two others. I have worked in the corporate world, and have served on the boards of more non-profits than I can count. But until two years ago, I had never worked in government.

I read everything I can about  finding good work and creative meaning as you progress through the decades of life. Now I focus my attention on what many call an “encore life.” An encore life is when the world considers you as retired from your “career” and embarking on a new journey. I chose to run for public office two years ago because I wanted to serve my community, and work in an area in which I had not worked before.

In the non-profit world, I was accustomed to board meetings that lasted less than two hours. Much of the time I was chairing those meetings. That is not the case with town board meetings. Between workshops before the meetings and the board meetings themselves, it is not unusual to be at town hall for four hours or longer on a Monday evening. All of it starts at 5:30 pm, after our board members have already finished their regular work day.

In a town the size of Lyons, we do not spend our time flying at 30,000 feet. We fly at 300 feet, debating the merits of issues as minute as whether or not to use bollards to separate traffic from pedestrians on Railroad Avenue after turning it into a one-way street, or the width of a pedestrian path behind a major highway. I have enjoyed my service on the town board more than I anticipated. It’s a lot of work, but you know you are making a difference at a local level.

There has been virtually no pushback about  being a transgender person. In fact, when I mentioned that I was planning to run again and wondered whether or not my gender identity would be an issue, our mayor and the two board members I was talking with said, “Oh that’s right, we always forget you’re trans.” None of us expect my gender  to be an issue this election either. If I am not reelected, it will likely be because folks do not like how I voted, not because of my gender.

I love living in Lyons, and take seriously my responsibility to help make our town an even better place in which to live. Now that I have learned the ropes of the job, I hope to be even more effective over the next two years.

An ancillary benefit of my service is the chance to add government service to the long list of ways in which I have served over the past fifty plus years. When it is all said and done, I’m probably most comfortable in the non-profit world. That is where I’ve spent most of my time. I spent 35 years with one non-profit, 25 as chair and CEO. After 35 years of service, I was gone seven days after coming out as transgender. Nothing about that seems strange if you live within the bubble of evangelicalism. If you are from outside of that insular bubble, you simply cannot believe something like that can still happen in the 21st century. It still does, and regularly, as a matter of fact.

If I’m not elected to the Board of Trustees, will I be disappointed? Sure. I’ve worked hard over the last two years to serve well. But after losing all of my jobs within a week just ten short years ago, not being elected to office would be far down the list of life’s disappointments.

And so it goes.