“I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.”

Barack Obama’s victory speech, Chicago, 11/4/08

November 4th marked a great day of change in our country and in our community. I want to thank each of you who gave a little of yourselves to help me along the path that led to our victory.

As part of my race, I made it a point to reach beyond my relationships forged through years of work in the community and meet new people, talk about the challenges that are facing our community, articulate my vision about what a strong community looks like and build new friendships that shape that vision.

Since the beginning of August I knocked on the doors of nearly 3,000 voters and I benefited from these conversations. I heard concerns about our community and terrific ideas about how we can work together to address issues of dense development, gangs and graffiti, and environmental threats. I will carry these ideas and help them find a home in the policies and projects of the County of Santa Cruz.

This election is not simply about my success at the ballot box, but about harnessing the energy and creativity of our community to help preserve and protect our wonderful area. I will work to be accessible to all the disparate parts of the 1st District by meeting with residents on a regular basis. I will seek to engage them all in the development of plans that will help maintain the best parts of our neighborhoods and address the unique challenges that each face.

I will not be seated until January 2009, but I will use the intervening weeks to prepare myself for my new responsibilities. During this time, I will continue to meet with neighbors, build an effective team to meet the needs of our community and identify partnerships that will help the district.

Thank you to all of you who gave me financial support, endorsed my campaign, volunteered time to help walk precincts, made phone calls or helped with events. All of those provided the ingredients necessary for victory on Election Day. I am humbled by the outpouring of support that my campaign received, and I will never forget all the hard work that each of you gave to help me win.

I will work hard to honor your support and to represent the residents of the 1st District and the entire Santa Cruz County community. Let me know how I’m doing and stay in touch. I will do my best to stay in touch with all of you.

With my deepest thanks,

John

566-0122