2011 City Council Campaign - Chris Hardie

In today's election, the citizens of Richmond made a choice about who they want to help shape the future of this community in the coming years. While I am of course disappointed that I was not elected to City Council, I am grateful for the votes I did receive and for the amazing support I've had along the way. Some highlights from the unofficial results [PDF]: 5,945 voters voted 2,717 of those voted for me to be one of the three members of City Council At-Large, 201 votes short of a win This...

The Palladium-Item has an article out today noting an increase in homicides here over the last year compared to previous years. I want to be careful to say that I don't write about this trend in this space with any promise or implication that my election or anyone else's could prevent individual crimes or save lives.  We know that no elected official and not even the best trained and funded police forces can prevent individual violent crimes when there are so many other background factors that...

As a part of conversation amongst candidates for office in this election, some of us found that there was a common theme emerging about our emphasis on and commitment to honoring and upholding basic principles of elected office. That conversation has resulted in the creation of "A Pledge to Voters" - a promise that myself and several other candidates - including Libertarian candidate Matt Hisrich and Republican candidate Misty Hollis - are making as a way of indicating our commitment to honesty,...

One of the things I've gained during this campaign is a new appreciation for how challenging it can be to produce and facilitate a meaningful and substantive political debate that is valuable to voters.  Between the spring primary and the general election, I can think of at least eight events where myself and some combination of other candidates for office were asked to debate (or converse, or discuss) the issues facing Richmond and Wayne County for an hour or more. At each event, as a candidate...

A recent editorial in the Palladium-Item again called for candidates in this City election to provide more detail about the specific changes and tasks we will take on if elected to improve City finances and the community as a whole. I feel confident that in my own campaign I've provided a thorough look at how I would approach my role as a member of City Council.  I've posted a consolidated list of my views on a number of issues facing the community, I've continued to post updates and more thorough...

Last night was the second scheduled event during the general election cycle when candidates for an at-large position on City Council got together to answer questions from people in the community about issues facing Richmond.  More so than the Chamber-sponsored debates last week, I thought the questions posed by attendees revealed a lot about what's on the hearts and minds of members of our community. We were asked about education, access to affordable housing, how to pay for proposed improvements...

As complex human beings, it can be hard to communicate all that we stand for and all that we've experienced in casual social interactions.  "Hi, I'm Chris, let me tell you about the past 34 years of my life in the next 2 minutes...."  When it goes beyond communicating to trying to persuade someone of something - that they should vote for you, for example - it can be even harder to efficiently sum up what you're about in meaningful, authentic ways. This is surely part of the utility, then, of having...

The Times of Northwest Indiana published an editorial at the end of August, reprinted in today's Palladium-Item, noting the importance of screening candidates for office on their views about public access laws.  Since increasing the transparency and accessibility of the work done by Richmond's City Council is a primary part of my own interest in serving on Council, I appreciate this emphasis. In the editorial, five questions were posed as suggestions for citizens to ask of candidates, with the imperative...

There are all sorts of ways the electoral process isn't optimized, either in making it more difficult than is necessary for voters to conveniently and clearly express their vote, or in making it more difficult than is necessary for some kinds of candidates to have a fair and equitable chance of receiving those votes. We certainly don't need to be adding new ways to complicate the process or confuse voters, which is why Chris Hardie supports a recent legal challenge, initiated locally in Richmond...

It's been an interesting experience to watch the 2012 budgeting process for the City of Richmond, being performed by the very City Council that I aspire to join.  If I'm elected, I'll be a part of a city government that is operating under the budget that's now being considered, so it feels even more important than usual to understand how the City is deciding where and how to spend money. As I watched various department heads present their requested budgets for the upcoming year, I observed a few things: It's...