I am writing in support of Melissa Youssef for City Council.
I worked with Melissa on the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board for a number of years and on the Committee to Keep Durango Healthy, the group that successfully campaigned for approval of the extension of the city’s half-cent sales tax to be used for recreational purposes, including trails and parks.
Melissa brought energy and passion to both groups. No matter the topic at hand, she was well-informed and provided a unique analysis of the issues that was influenced in large part by her active outreach to members of the community for their input.
More importantly, Melissa has a knack for formulating solutions when competing interests are seeking limited resources, solutions that were forward-looking and not designed to just kick the can down the road, hoping that the problem will eventually go away or to leave it to someone else to deal with later.
City council will be facing many hard choices in the coming years – the city’s needs outweigh its financial resources and there are many competing private interests vying for favorable treatment. If the problems the city is facing could be fixed with fairy dust, anyone could do the job.
The fact is that the city council needs members who are not only energetic, passionate, and analytical, but who will actively reach out to members of the community so that the council can formulate solutions that will best serve the entire community in the long run.
In other words, the city council needs people like Melissa Youssef. Please vote for her.
Bill Zimsky
Hesperus
