Arcata needs you more than ever

I miss my chair at City Hall. I’ve spent many hours planted in it during the past few years while on City Council.

From that seat I have heard countless staff reports.

I’ve watched PowerPoint after PowerPoint presentation — so many that I now pause my Netflix shows regularly, simply because viewing something outside of the comforting format of a slideshow is now an unsettling experience.

I’ve voted “yay,” and I’ve voted “nay.”

Through it all, I sat in that seat not 20 feet from you, and I miss it.

I miss seeing and hearing you give public comments thanking us as much as I’ve appreciated the ones admonishing us.

I miss the little microphone that I can never get to sit at the correct angle.

Now I, as well as my fellow councilmembers and our valued city staff, appear as but floating heads on planet Zoom.

A lot has changed.

Many of us rarely leave our homes now because of this pandemic.

Some of you enjoyed your bimonthy trips to City Hall and joining us in doing everything we can to better Arcata, a city which we hold dear. And I know you miss it, just as I do.

City Council is meant to be a space where the community can come together.

Not where the community can watch me try and unmute myself.

It’s a place where you can lock eyes with us as equals and demand we do better.

Good news is, it still is.

Yes, we may seem far away in our Zoom bubbles.

But we’re in Arcata, pretending to have pants on during a meeting from our sofas.

Yes, the thought of delivering an email for public comment may seem lackluster — but trust me, it’s not.

Your ideas are integral. Your words are wanted. Your voice is vital.

It’s never been harder to run a city than it is right now. Because while tragedy and troubled times are nothing new, not being able to come together and deal with it as a community, is.

We need you now more than ever.

So please, pick up the phone and call us.

Turn on the computer and email us, and watch us.

Hold us accountable — there’s no amount of social distance in the world that can stop you from doing that.