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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJason DelmueTo: Mayor Andrus, Deputy Mayor Cunningham, and Commissioners Madgic and Coburn From: Jason Delmue Date: November 16, 2023 Re: City Commission Vacancy Dear Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and Commissioners: Not that anybody can replace Commissioner Pomeroy’s joy and posi<ve spirit, but please accept this as my applica<on to fill the open seat. For years I have contributed to our community, and I believe, given my experience and knowledge, that I can hit the ground running to con<nue the progress on the difficult issues that you, the professional staff, and the greater community have been making. Maybe it was the example set by my dad, who always made sure to check on and help out his aunts and uncles in their later years, that ins<lled in me the impetus to contribute. During winter, I am fana<cal about snow removal from the sidewalks at my house and project so that people of all ages and abili<es can pass safely. During summer, I carry a 14” folding saw in my mountain-biking backpack to cut blown-down trees from across trails. I have also contributed for many years in a formal capacity with the City. For around 15 years, I served on the BABAB and was its chairperson at the <me it was consolidated into the Transporta<on Board. During that tenure, I became familiar with the Transporta<on Master Plan as well as the City’s budget process, including the CIP. I learned that the best transporta<on plan starts with good land use planning. More recently, I have been serving on the Community Development Board. Even prior to my appointment, I followed and par<cipated in the current evolu<on of our community’s land-use policies, including the recent mul<-phase planning and implementa<on effort involving the Community Housing Needs Assessment, the Community Plan 2020, the Community Housing Ac<on Plan, the UDC Affordable Housing Assessment, and the draV UDC Update. Having been a par<cipant since 2007 in the process of conceiving of, applying for approval, and then construc<ng and maintaining a few small-scale residen<al infill projects, I have a working understanding of the City’s past and current land-use regula<ons. As a general nerd about governance and smart growth, I have also watched most of the City Commission mee<ngs going back several years and have familiarity with, among other things, the community’s commitment to and progress toward sustainability and DEI. Now, with a vacancy on the Commission, I see an opportunity to further contribute using the insight gained from my service and involvement discussed above. I strive to bring prepara<on, collegiality, and crea<vity in researching, understanding and delibera<ng the complex issues facing our community. I am looking forward to the eventual emergence of the various nodes around town, as set forth in the Community Plan, to provide neighborhood-scale commercial offerings for nearby residents to sa<sfy daily and weekly needs by walking or riding a bike. I am also op<mis<c about opportuni<es to improve our area’s transit system now that Bozeman has become a metropolitan planning area. I believe that I will be able to contribute immediately, con<nuing the progress on your current Strategic Plan of two years ago and par<cipa<ng in the establishment of the next one. I share the commitment of the Commission and the City’s professional staff to keep striving for progress on the affordable housing crisis facing the City’s workforce. For reasons of both social jus<ce as well as smart growth, I agree with the City’s collec<ve priori<za<on of this issue, including working with non-governmental partners. I was heartened to see, in the Commission room on September 12th, David Fine’s presenta<on to the Commission about the mul<-faceted efforts and progress along most of the housing spectrum, from emergency shelter to transi<onal housing to various levels of affordable housing to entry-level for-purchase housing. I think an important perspec<ve that I can bring to the Commission is an apprecia<on of the value and dignity of all who work in our community. Our family’s modest household growing up occasioned me to have to work early and oVen. As a kid, I started to help when the family would go to the woods to cut firewood and split it for weeks aVer we got it home. In fourth grade, I got my first job outside of the house as a paper boy (365 days a year, in every weather condi<on). When I was fourteen, I started working at Liale Caesar’s aVer school, in the evenings, and on weekends (s<ll delivering newspapers in the morning). I worked through the rest of high school and college. In the more recent past, on my own construc<on projects or helping my friend and builder on his other projects, I do plenty of unskilled labor and work with and among members of the skilled building trades. I believe that everyone working for our community should have the opportunity to affordably live in our community. If I am selected to fill the Commission vacancy, I believe I can contribute in several ways. My educa<on in accoun<ng ins<lled a me<culous aaen<on to the systema<c building up from the founda<onal level. My educa<on in law, refined by clerking for a U.S. District Court judge and then one on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, allowed me to hone rigorous research and analy<cal skills. My years in private prac<ce of law required me to develop skills essen<ally in triage – determining a course of ac<on that balanced several factors or limita<ons including importance, effec<veness, <me, and budget. And my collec<ve legal experience gives me a disciplined understanding of the criteria, imposed by Bozeman’s municipal code and the MCA, underlying many of the decisions that come before the Commission. Incidentally, I also will fit into a gap along the age spectrum of the Commission. I always say that dominoes of luck were lined up for me in 2001: Fortuitous circumstances brought me to Bozeman as well as pushed me to buy an affordable starter home (back when there was such a thing). Sadly, unfortunate circumstances now line up against our City’s workforce. I believe that I have the knowledge and understanding to immediately contribute toward progress on that front and the other nuanced issues facing our community.