HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-02-21 Public Comment - P. Coppolillo - Christopher CoburnFrom:Pete Coppolillo
To:Agenda
Subject:Choose Chris Coburn
Date:Friday, April 2, 2021 1:05:19 PM
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Dear Commission,
First of all, thank you for all your service this past year. You've all maintained a level of
professionalism and continuity in the face of great upheaval, and I am grateful for you allkeeping the City on track.
With that in mind, I am writing to strongly encourage you to unanimously choose Chris
Coburn to fill the vacancy. Chris is not the "obvious" or "safe" choice, but he is the RIGHTchoice. There are a number of reasons why you should choose him over the other candidate.
1. First, he's from outside the establishment. With all due respect, you guys have"establishment" covered. You know what you know and you know who to bring in if
you need people with Woods's skill set (including Woods himself if you need hisperspective). Chris Coburn is a fresh and new perspective. He offers the Commission
and Bozeman the things that we may not even know we need. And he has a track recordworking within city and government structures. In other words, Chris Coburn "ticks the
boxes" that we need but don't know we need, in contrast to others who only tick boxeswe know we need.
2. Second, we have a race problem in Bozeman and Gallatin County. Recall that in termsof arrest bias we hold the ignoble distinction of being the worst county in the worst state
in the union. I'm grateful for the steps the Commission has already taken, and I'mcertain that they are not enough. We must do more and that requires a fresh and
informed perspective.3. Third, our State Legislature is at war with disadvantaged and underrepresented groups.
I, all but one of the Commissioners and virtually all of Bozeman are white andprivileged and we simply can't address issues coming at Bozeman, the west, and the
country. Chris offers something unique, underrepresented, and valuable.4. Chris Coburn's professional public health experience will expand Bozeman's care for
and raise up the most vulnerable in our community.
Don't be swayed by large numbers of comments from the Woods camp. Woods is a fine
person and a hard worker, but the fact that he's able to tap the infrastructure and resourcesfrom his PSC campaign should not give you the impression that he has broader support or is a
better candidate. He's just more connected. We don't need connected; we need an informedand new perspective.
Do the right thing and unanimously appoint Chris Coburn.
Thanks for hearing my comment, and thanks again for serving Bozeman!
-Pete Coppolillo, Ph.D.Precinct 61A, CW-Boz
Bozeman, MT, 59715
Pete Coppolillo | +1 406 451 4267 | Pete.Coppolillo@GMail.com