Recipes for a Healthy You that don't Involve Cooking: a little history and clarity

It’s been a few months since I’ve blogged.  I’ve been a bit busy working my campaign, knocking on doors and meeting new people.  What I have found is that there needs to be clarity in a few things.  So, with that, allow me to re-introduce myself! 

My name is Colette Richards, just over two years ago, my name was Colette Dunsmore.  LOTS of people remember that name.  I had that name since I moved to Dearborn in 1998.  When I went through my divorce, I changed my name to my maiden name and LEFT it that way!   Many of you will remember me as the Dearborn PTA Council President.   Some of you will know me as the Crowley Park Neighborhood Association President.  Lots of you will know me as a member of the planning committee of the Relay For Life of Dearborn and others will know me through the City Beautiful Commission or the Dearborn Rotary Club.  Whether you know me because of my PTA work, my community work or my advocacy for parents of special needs children, I am still the same person with just my original name.   So, if you hear that Colette Richards is running for City Council, you now know that I am the same person as Colette Dunsmore.  I hope that helps more people recognize who I am.  Most people just know me as Colette. 

I would like to discuss a few things today:  One of them being why I’m the best choice to be elected to City Council and the other one being about my answers to the League of Women Voter’s Vote411 guide.  I may not have a 4 year degree or a high paying job, but what I do have is an Associate’s degree, a job, knowledge in life lessons and life skills you can’t get with any Degree.  Allow me to fill you in!

When I was YOUNG, I married a Navy man.  We lived in San Diego for almost 5 full years with a 9 month stay in Westfield, MA.  I chose to work full time in a retail establishment and go to school part time.  When I was promoted to store manager, my schooling took second place and therefore I finished off with an Associate’s Degree and never went back to college.  I was the Store Manager that got promoted quickly from smaller sales stores to high volume stores and when I came back to Michigan, I was the one that they moved to locations where they needed to clean house.  I was the one that did a lot of firing and hiring and training.  I went through a divorce and happily didn’t have children with him.  I then met and married my son’s dad and had my son just 16 months after we were married and moved in to our home in Dearborn.  We had a small house near Crowley Park and I loved it.  When my son was almost a year old he was diagnosed with having a stroke in-utero and having Cerebral Palsy.  We were told he could possibly develop seizures and that he would have trouble processing certain things when he started school. 

When my son was 2 he started having seizures and has been on medication ever since.  He was granted a Wish from the Make A Wish Foundation of Michigan in Feb. of 2007 and he got to have the dream vacation of Walt Disney World for one week.  I don’t think any of us will ever forget what a wonderful trip that was for him.  My son has Cognitive Impairment and is several years behind where he should be.  He has to have many accommodations to his schooling.  He will not receive a diploma when he “graduates” but a Certificate of Completion because he can’t function on grade level for a child his age.  He has limited use of his left hand and wear’s a hand splint to help keep his fist from closing all the time so that he may use his left hand as an assist.  He has an insert for his right foot in his shoe and his left foot is a really cool AFO which runs up his foot to high calf.  It’s cool because he gets to put cool hockey teams logo’s on it.  What more could any sports crazy 13 year old want!  He has an ability to let things roll off his back and not bother him in a way that most would be bothered.  He wasn’t born with sarcasm but has developed it as he’s gotten older and his sense of humor is finally showing through.  He knows as many people as I do I think.  We can’t go anywhere without him running into a kid he knows from school or somewhere around town.  He is definitely MY child.  With all of his issues, I couldn’t have asked for a better son.  Because of him, I have learned so much about Special Education Law and have turned my knowledge into a support for other parents who NEED it.  If I don’t know the answer off the top of my head, I know where to look for it.  I spent many years attending IEP’s for parents to make sure they were able to understand what the School District was saying to them and helping them come to a compromise in the best interest of their child.  I have been very successful at helping many families this way and have received thanks from both the parents and school district for helping in tough meetings. 

While dealing with this, I didn’t work a “day” job.  I was self-employed.   I did that “direct sales thing” that so many do.  Since January of 1999, I was the Owner of my own business.  I am an Independent Consultant with PartyLite.  I worked this business like a business.  I built it from the bottom and worked my way up into Leadership.  I was able to help many people pay bills, buy cars, go on dream vacations, pay for weddings, college, etc.  My ex has a very good job and is a UAW member.  He is a journeyman and skilled trades.  I can honestly tell you that I have brought home more than him in one week several times at the peak of my business.  In fact, when he was on lay off, it was my business that saved us.  I put my heart and soul into my PartyLite business and learned how to work effectively and use my time management skills to work smarter not harder.  Because of this business, it allowed me to stay at home with my son, volunteer and get involved in so many things.  One year, I was PTA President of Snow Elementary PTA, Dearborn PTA Council President and the Event Chair for the Relay For Life of Dearborn.  I would have to say I was pretty busy.  I learned real quick how to work my time management skills so I wouldn’t find myself sinking in my own volunteer work. 

Sometimes things change and my relationship with my son’s dad did as well.  We went through a divorce and I changed my name back to my maiden name.  My son adjusted well with time and now we are happily living at my new husband’s house.  He is a life-long resident of Dearborn and a graduate of Edsel Ford High School.  He has a son who also needs some special assistance but is fully included in a general education setting at school.  I’m not used to an age appropriate child, so for me it has been a learning experience.  I couldn’t tell you what is 7th grade math or 7th grade reading levels, but I could tell you where my child falls in those categories.  So, when my step son needs help with math, his dad isn’t the greatest at math and I graduated with pre-calc as my last math class, well, I’m the one to help him.  Math isn’t what it used to be.  I can’t promise him that I’ll help him since I know nothing about how they teach math these days.  But so far, this past year it worked out well.  I have also taken a job with the Dearborn Schools.  It's nice to go to work and when you leave work, you leave it.  I don't take my work home with me like I did when I was really pursuing PartyLite.

A few positive notes, my son hasn’t had a seizure since October 15th of 2006 and his medication is working.  My husband is my soul mate.  He’s as social as I am and loves to have people around.  We enjoy talking to each other and never run out of things to say.  He supports me fully in my quest to serve the city as a City Council person.  I couldn’t do this campaign without his full support and love and understanding.  I am truly blessed to have found him right under my nose when I wasn’t even looking. 

One of the things that I learned along the way was how to work with people.  I learned diplomacy and how to properly talk to people without offending them.  I’m not perfect but I do my best and I can honestly say that I have made an impact in the areas where I am involved.  The PTA Council allowed me to bridge the East and West side of Dearborn together.  There seemed to be a disconnect when I was first on Council so I made a point to work on that while I was President and our executive board was successful in accomplishing the building of relationships across the entire district.  One of the things that I did on the PTA Council was help each local PTA with issues they may have had.  Our schools are neighborhood schools and the issues they had weren’t just school issues but neighborhood issues as well.  I learned that we needed to look at both sides of the issue to come to the best solution.  I can definitely say that I’m a problem solver. 

I can’t possibly touch on everything I have done but you can see my entire bio on my website at coletterichards.com .  What I can do is give you some more insight.  I have been asked while knocking on doors what my “issue” is.  My answer is simple… I don’t have an “issue” for my City Council campaign.  I am running because I want to make sure that the issues of the people are heard at City Hall.  I want to make sure that I am able to bring forward what the people want and find a way to make things happen or find a compromise that works for everyone to the best of my ability.  If you haven’t figured out by now, I am the average person in the average neighborhood.  My issues are your issues and since this is a “citizen’s government” it should have people from all walks of life serving.  I want to be the mom, neighbor, hard worker, paycheck to paycheck person on the City Council.  I represent all of you, the hard workers of Dearborn that live paycheck to paycheck and do what they have to do to provide for their family.  I am the face of your neighborhood and I will be your voice when you elect me to do as your next City Council person. 

I’m sure I’m missing something but this is getting long and I want to address the League of Women Voter’s Vote411 guide.  We were allowed to use up to 625 characters per answer which is approximately 100 words.  You can imagine with what I write that this was not an easy task for me to get down to 100 words.  In fact, it took me at least an hour and a half to answer these questions.  Below are the questions and my answers…..

Please provide biographical information and experience, and explain why you are running for this office.

Special Ed Parent Advocate 6 yrs, PTA member/leader-local/district level 9 yrs, MI PTA Board of Directors 2 yrs, Relay For Life Team Captain 6 yrs-Planning Committee 5 yrs, City Beautiful Commissioner 3 yrs, Crowley Park Neighborhood Assoc. President 1 yr, Dearborn Rotary Club 3 yrs-Board of Director 2 yrs, Campaign Manager-Roxanne McDonald-School Board 3yrs, Campaign member-George Darany's City Council run 2009-office administrator State Rep run 2010. I am a hard worker, independent yet a team player. I love Dearborn, have a strong sense of community and want the city to prosper. I know I can help make that happen.

How can citizens have more input into the decision-making process and be better informed on the decisions made at City Hall?

Citizens must first want to be informed. Those that want that can attend Committee of the Whole meetings and/or City Council meetings or should contact a City Council member. I believe if citizens ask City Council members questions either by phone or email, that they should be answered within a reasonable time frame. Attend the public hearings that are offered to become better informed as well. Don't be afraid to ask any questions of your elected officials. The process isn't always black and white and citizens need to educate themselves on the issues. I'd rather have questions than assumptions from our citizens.

Name one issue where you feel you can make a difference if elected, and explain your answer.

My one issue is "connection" between City Government and the average citizen of Dearborn. I'm the average citizen in Dearborn. I live in a small home, I'm not wealthy by any means, I do the best I can do to provide for my family. I look at the city differently, through the eyes of a child with a disability. When I look at issues, I look at all sides to come to a sound decision as to what is best for ALL concerned. People are not alike, everyone is unique and each situation should be treated as such. I want to bring my unique ability to see all sides of an issue to the City Council. Each citizen can connect with me.

What are two major decisions made by the Council in the past 4 years, and what effect do you think these had on the City?

My 2 decisions are the closing of pools and a library and the purchase of the ADP building for a new City Hall. While it may have been necessary at the time to close down two pools and a library, it seemed like there wasn't much communication with the citizens until it was too late to bring them back. Children were left with nowhere to go nearby to read or enjoy the summer. We need to provide better alternatives for the kids. The ADP building purchase is still affecting us today. We won't know just how much this will affect us in the future but money being spent on this could have been better spent elsewhere.

So, here is my clarity on my answers:

Obviously my bio is as close as I could get.  My extended version of why I’m running for office is that I feel I can make a big difference at the City level.  I have a unique perspective coming from a mom of a child with special needs and I have proven my ability to work with people on all sorts of issues.  I am organized and excellent at time management.  I can offer an unbiased approach to all things Dearborn as I have ONE thing I’m vested in… making Dearborn an even better place for generations to come.  I believe in inclusion for all people and will always look at each situation that way.  My ability to look at both sides of the story and find a compromise makes me a very viable candidate! 

The first question- How can citizens have more input into the decision-making process and be better informed on the decisions made at City Hall?

My first line was “Citizens must first want to be informed” comes from my years of experience that lots of people are very complacent and only care about what goes on in their four walls of their home.   Therefore, people must want to be informed.  It doesn’t matter if the city gives us 50 ways to know what’s going on.  IF people aren’t looking to be involved, they simply won’t be.   The rest of my answer is cut and dry. 

The second question - Name one issue where you feel you can make a difference if elected, and explain your answer.

I believe I actually gave more insight into this by my comments above explaining my background. 

The third question - What are two major decisions made by the Council in the past 4 years, and what effect do you think these had on the City?

I found it interesting reading other candidates answers to this question.  But to explain mine, I’d have to say that when the City makes decisions like closing down pools and libraries, they really need to look into alternative solutions to replace the things they are taking away.  I also think that major decisions like this should really be brought up to the residents in a timely fashion.  I remember having plenty of notice about closing Snow Branch Library, but not much notice about the decision to close the pools.  I know that if it weren’t for “SAVE OUR POOLS”, we would have lost more than the two pools they closed down.  Now the second part of this question I chose the ADP building purchase.  I really couldn’t post much about it as we still don’t really know how this will affect us.  But I can say this, it will in some way or form.  I am honestly NOT against moving City Hall, I am NOT happy with the way it was being done.  There are so many factors coming to light in this deal that it is being soiled.  First off, they didn’t sell City Hall before buying a new building.  Then they wanted to take PILOT money to pay Artspace to basically buy City Hall from us.   Then they want to invest a ton of money into the ADP building.  Where is the information on how much it would have been to fix the current City Hall?  Has anyone compared the costs on both sides??  IF so, why can’t the people see this cost analysis on both sides??  If it’s out there, why is it not something we have seen yet?  There are so many questions out there and if Council is going around saying that there is misinformation out there, they need to provide the PROPER information to the average citizen to UNDERSTAND!!  If it’s in black and white, written down and shows just cause to move City Hall, then so be it!!  I’ll be the first one to help move!!  Transparency is a term used regularly, but is everything transparent?  This is the way I see it, be transparent with what you want.  If you are upfront from the beginning and do things in a way that we can all understand chances are, we’ll go along and support the decision.  Making decisions that affect us here and not giving us the reasons for it is what makes people get a little upset and makes them want PROPER information before moving ahead.  Giving information from the beginning will get you a lot farther with your citizens in the long run. 

I hope that helps answer my questions better.  I hope this blog provides you a very insightful history lesson into my life and also gives you the clarity to understand where I’m coming from and how I can be your voice at City Hall.  I hope I have your vote and I hope I see you while I’m knocking on doors this summer!