Now you have a reason to get out and VOTE!
I’m Elizabeth Wallace, the write-in candidate for Mayor of Takoma Park.
When I signed up to be a check-in judge at the 2019 Takoma Park elections, I was shocked how many blanks there are on the ballot where the names of contenders should be. That’s why, last Friday at 4:40 pm, I threw my hat into the ring.
Yes, it’s the last minute. Win or lose, perhaps my candidacy will spark a dialog about civic engagement in our city and what it will take to have more candidates every year. Whether we are sixteen or sixty years old, we all want a choice! I'm giving you one.
Get 'Er Done!
We all appreciate the due diligence of our current council to pass good legislation for our city. My focus would be to ensure that the city manager and his staff have the appropriate tools, skills and training to facilitate execution.
I would also collaborate on the ongoing issue regarding the municipal tax duplication and revenue sharing
However, circumstances beyond the council’s control may necessitate new fiscal challenges.
Having run a business for 29 years which was affected daily by world events, I can make the hard calls and still get ‘er done.
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Customer Service in Takoma Park City Hall
Every resident of Takoma Park is a customer of the city government, Some ask for help by borrowing a library book and others by getting directions to attend or create a public event,.
Less obvious to the casual city hall visitor are the calls for other kinds of help. A single parent who calls the police to talk with their teenager. Someone living below the poverty line who has a hole in his roof or needs food. A job applicant for a city position.
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Some procedures are more daunting than others. Some employees more accessible than others. I know from experience. Let's make Takoma Park user friendly to all .
Education Through Recreation
Did you know that a recent visitor to our city had to quit being a professional football player due to an injury and, thanks to his study of chemistry, went on to become an astronaut?
Last week an NPR story again pointed out the lack of diversity in STEM, that is, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Support for our students who are interested in STEM when young can be sustained through recreation department offerings tied to the Common Core State Standards and visits from more role models like Astronaut Leland Melvin.
And let’s host a new type of family event -- a TEDx Takoma Park! We have so many talented and inspiring neighbors, let's collaborate with our TV staff to take our talks beyond our borders.
Career Changes After 50
Dozens of boomers showed up at a job networking event at the community center several months ago. As we prepare not to retire but to go on, perhaps even with less, the city needs to support its residents to find new careers.
POAC, the Professional Outplacement Assistance Center of the MD DLLR, provides individualized career guidance, workshops, resume coaching and even free headshots! Our auditorium is a perfect venue!
Let’s invite POAC to Takoma Park so their programs are accessible via bus and Metro to our residents and those nearby. Why reinvent the wheel?
Protect and Engage Elders
Many of us are also now taking care of our parents as well as our children. I applaud the work done by the community to establish the position of senior services representative at city hall.
As a caregiver to my father, I worked with the MCPD to bring several “woodchucks” -- persons who scam elders out of thousands and thousands of dollars by performing unneeded and unsolicited yard and home repairs -- to justice.
It’s very hard and detailed work. It is probable that the new position may need to be expanded soon as the scope of the job is ascertained and our elder population grows. Let’s get ‘er done.
Vision
My great grandparents immigrated to Takoma Park at the end of the 19th century and built their home on Baltimore Avenue. My father grew up on Aspen in DC and my children and I made our home here in 1994. I’d like to contribute my time to the city to make it a place my great grandchildren would like to call home.
In my first company, I was dedicated to getting people across borders, that is, to facilitate the issuance of passports and visas to US executives traveling abroad. Now, however, I have expanded my vision to include our getting beyond borders. That includes not only suborbital space tourism, but also the borders we have here in Takoma Park.
Some of our current council members are very adept at making connections throughout the community. While I have been doing so outside of Takoma Park for the past 10 years, I would like to apply my skills to the city and use my network to bring more resources to our residents and businesses -- home based as well as retail. As a lifelong learner and MC student, I would like to continue to improve our relations with the community college.
To paraphrase a familiar retail tag line: An educated Takoma Park resident is our best voter. It’s our job to open doors to education of all kinds.
Track Record in Business, Non-Profit and Educational Organizations
My Volunteerism and Community OutReach
After selling my company in 2004, I devoted my time to create programs which encouraged understanding about different cultures through the arts and had the privilege of producing two culture camps in Takoma Park through the Recreation Department. (see photo above right)Currently I create STEAM projects using multimedia to promote astronomy and space exploration.
Intercultural Understanding
Interages
Learning to Care: culture camps (Mali/Korea)
Textile Museum Study Tour to Mali
STEM Education
Jr Engineering: Anne Arundel Comm College
STEM Field Days for Alice Deal MS
STEAM -- Arts Integrated Programs
The StarryTelling Festival, Kensington, MD
The International Year of Astronomy 2009
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD
National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC
Parkland Magnet MS for Aerospace Technology
Takoma Park Middle School, Takoma Park MD
YMCA, Silver Spring. MD
Evergreen Montessori School, Wheaton, MD
British School of Washington, Washington, DC
Alice Deal Middle School, Washington, DC
Other:
Takoma Park Folk and Jazz Festivals
Gilchrist Center: Computer Training for ESL
Access Montgomery TV
AARP
FAA Suborbital Astronaut Training 2013
Montgomery Co Board of Elections: Chief Judge
Experience and Skills
I am a self-starter who founded an international travel support service at 22 years of age and served 29 years as its COO.
Using best practices and a commitment to excellent customer service, my company attracted new corporate accounts weekly by word of mouth referrals and retained them for decades. Clients included CARE, Save the Children, Harvard, Tulane, Marriott, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon.
We were known for going “above and beyond” to achieve results. I’ll go above and beyond for you.
Principal Skill Sets
Operations Management: HR, AR, AP, office relocation, shipping and receiving, sales order processing, IT, front line customer service
Marketing: conception and design of materials including websites, flyers, and logos
Data management
Event planning
Publishing: newsletters and reference books, blogging
Social Media
Education
BA in Photojournalism and Russian Studies
Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute
St Petersburg, Russia
Astronomy, Art, Screenwriting, MS Office
Montgomery College,Takoma Park, MD
