08/22/2024
I have been absent from the last few city council meetings, and I wanted to take a moment to discuss this and to discuss my future as your mayor.
Two weeks ago, while running some errands, I became disoriented and lost consciousness. An ambulance took me to the hospital, and it turned out that I had dangerously high blood pressure. Two days later, I experienced another incident while at home. Follow-up appointments showed there are additional reasons for concern, and I am waiting on further testing to hopefully get to the bottom of my issues. I have taken time to rest and to follow the advice of my doctors to reduce my stress level. As a result, and due to doctor’s appointments, I have not been able to attend recent meetings.
Additionally, I will not file for a position on this November’s special election ballot. I cannot in good conscience begin a campaign when uncertainty about my health prevents me from doing all I can to campaign this November. That would be a disservice to everyone that stands ready to donate their time and money to this effort. It would be a disservice to the community to pledge to continue serving as your mayor when I do not know if my health would allow me to do so.
In the two weeks prior to this medical incident, I had been preparing for this November’s special mayoral election. Many of you had stepped up to help as a volunteer and had also been prepared to donate to my campaign. I was hard at work getting campaign literature planned out and to file for a place on the ballot. I was very excited at the response and enthusiasm from the community. I have worked hard as your mayor, and in my campaigns, to honor your support and do everything I can to be successful and advance our shared vision for Dickinson. Together, we have been successful even when people said we didn’t have a chance and I believe we would have been successful again in November.
I cannot help but feel that I have let people down and I would be lying if I said I don’t feel a sense of embarrassment in reversing my decision to run in this special election. However, I must take my health seriously and until those issues are effectively treated, my focus needs to be on staying well. There is a vanity that politicians risk falling victim to: the conceit that only you can fix things. While I am proud of the work that we have done over the last several years, I am not Dickinson’s savior. I am not the only person that can do this job.
I sought to continue serving as mayor because I am deeply concerned for the political climate in our community and our country. We have seen a group of citizens devote a great deal of energy to peddling in the politics of smear and division. We seem to have simply accepted this as the “new normal” in Dickinson and in the country at large. I have been disheartened that many in the community, lamented this climate, but rarely called this behavior out.
My hope had been to galvanize the community through this campaign and call on the community to speak up loudly. It remains my hope that the people will demand civility and decency in our community. Stand up against those that are seeking to divide us. Most importantly, I hope that the community will elect leaders in the future that will not take us back to failed leadership. We have seen what that looks like: coverups, untested r**e kits, and backroom development deals. Elect leaders that will continue the work we’ve done and hold them accountable if they don’t.
It had been my sincere hope to roll out a campaign launch video rather than what I have written here today. I do still feel called to serve and I am proud of what we’ve accomplished. If I can get a handle on my medical issues, I would not rule out stepping up to serve again in some capacity in the future. At least for now, I need to step away and pass the torch to those better able to serve.
I sincerely thank everyone that has stood by me and worked to make our community a better place. I also want to thank everyone that has checked in on me and my family in the last few weeks. I am honored that you placed your trust in me and allowed me to serve as your mayor.
