Perry Campaign Update: Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays from the Perry campaign! I hope everyone was able to spend some time with family and get ready for the new year. Last week I had the pleasure of going door to door to collect more than the required 40 signatures in my home neighborhood of River Hill Estates. All of the signatures have now submitted to city hall and I look forward to being on the ballot in the spring. I hope to have your support.

I'm very encouraged by the feedback I've received both face to face, as well as from voters in District 12 who have emailed or called me. I had a great conversation just this morning with a gentleman who had some great questions and feedback for me. What we found by the end of our conversation is that we are very similar, which validates exactly why I'm running for this position in the first place. It is reasonable and should be expected to have a representative from your district who is a true representative of that very district.

Last Thursday I wrote a piece that I posted on this blog and it was published on patch.com at http://waukesha.patch.com/blog_posts/where-do-we-start-bc169b51. In that piece I talked about working towards a solution in Waukesha and my idea for a place to start a solution. Last Friday night Game Stop near Sunset drive was robbed at gun point. Then just yesterday, Associated Bank, located just across the parking lot from Game Stop, was robbed by a man who implied he had a gun and threatened to blow up the bank if he did not get the money he was asking for.

The city of Waukesha, quite bluntly, is better than this. It is time that we expect better and expect action from our city leaders. These events are dangerous and are beginning to lead us down a road we're not happy with. I hope to have the opportunity to be one of those leaders representing the residents of our district and changing the atmosphere of our community.

Please follow the campaign on Facebook at "Vote Perry" and on Twitter at @perry4alderman and I always encourage your questions and feedback at perryforalderman@gmail.com. Have a Happy New Year!

Where do we start?

Aaron Perry is a candidate for Alderman in District 12 of Waukesha, WI.  Aaron is a father of two very young boys and has been married to his wife Angela for five years.

The tragic shootings that happened this year have shocked us all. The most recent shooting in Connecticut left us speechless and searching for answers.  Even though my two boys are too young for school, I can’t help but wonder what it would have been like to send them to school Monday after the tragic events last Friday in Connecticut.  As a candidate for Alderman and most of all as a father, I feel compelled to share thoughts regarding where we start on a solution.

I have visited dozens of homes in District 12 in my young campaign for Alderman. Because of the recent tragedy I am asked about my views on gun control.  That’s a natural question to ask and I understand the engagement and urgency that our residents have on the issue of our children’s safety.  But when we focus solely on guns, we miss an opportunity to get to the very heart of the matter.  I see worry on the faces of parents in the community and I see the urgency in which we all want this issue to go away.  But we must start from the ground up and not jump to knee-jerk legislation.

I propose that we form a committee involving city government to help build a better community for our children.  This group would be similar to committees formed to improve business districts.  It would be made up of community leaders, school leaders and parents.  The committee’s purpose would be to listen to the concerns of parents and address issues facing our children in the matters of violence.  We spend a great deal of time and effort improving the business climate in Waukesha.  Building business is important, but children are our biggest investment.  They are our number one priority.

So before we dive into the issue of guns or blaming violent video games for an all-too-common tragedy, let’s focus on what we can do to build a better community for our children. That is what I am compelled to do and it is what I feel I should share as a father in our community and as a candidate for Alderman in District 12.

 

 

Perry Campaign Update

I had a great, although rainy Saturday, visiting four neighborhoods of District 12 collecting signatures and speaking with residents. I have acquired the necessary signatures to be on the ballot in the spring and will submit them this week to city hall for verification. My campaign manager, Adam Engelstad and I visited over 60 homes on Saturday and received a lot of feedback showing that residents here are engaged and ready for a few new faces on the Common Counsel.

As this process progresses more candidates will share their thoughts and stances on a variety of issues. With the next step in my candidacy now much closer, I find it appropriate to share some thoughts on issues on the mind of residents I spoke with Saturday.

-BID (Business Improvement District)- There are still a lot of questions surrounding the committee but the overall concept of it and preserving the goal it was set out to achieve is one I believe we should still pursue. Waukesha has a downtown that is special and has even greater potential when given the right leadership. I believe having the BID is vital in achieving that.

-Taxes & spending- I find this to be very simple. City government cannot spend money it does not have. Before city government takes any dollar out of the pockets of it's residents, the reason had better be fully vetted and in the best interest of our standard of living and public safety.

-Revamping teacher compensation- I agree with the decision to research a better way to compensate teachers. I am not in favor of having unions control the compensation for our teachers and in turn the education of our children. I look at this as a ground breaking opportunity and hope to be a part of ensuring it is done and done right.

-West Waukesha Bypass- This is a project that has been met with some mixed opinion. I am in favor of it as long as the project passes the proper environmental impact standards and details are realistically worked out for pedestrian travel. Having this bypass would not only make travel safer and easier for residents but also make Waukesha and easier place to visit.

I look forward to sharing more and meeting more residents as the weeks go on. I will update the blog once more before my wife and I and our 2 sons travel for Christmas. I appreciate you reading, encourage you to share this and value your feedback.

First week of the campaign

The first week of the campaign is under way! I'm thankful that my social media pages have gained positive support and the local news outlets, Patch and Waukesha NOW, have run pieces on my announcement. Rain or shine my campaign manager Adam Engelstad and I will be out in the neighborhood circulating for signatures and doing the most important thing I can do...listening.

I look forward to using this outlet to communicate in more detail my feelings on local issues and outlining my ideas and solutions. No one can ever claim to have all the answers. One thing I can assure you is that research will be done with an open mind and ideas of action will be put in to place. The best interests of the residents of District 12 and the City of Waukesha are most important, plain and simple.

Statement of Purpose

My name is Aaron Perry of 912 Valley Hill Drive in District 12 of Waukesha. I am running for Alderman of District 12 in the 2013 election to lend my knowledge, passion, and service to the great city of Waukesha. My wife Angela and I have started our family here with two handsome boys, Landon, age one and Jackson, who was born just one month ago today. We find our community to be welcoming, friendly, and family oriented. That being said, Waukesha, as well as District 12, is in need of an upgrade in ideas, a commitment to completion of projects, and urgent action in regard to issues that are of vital importance to the long term prosperity of our community and its residents.

My interest in politics and public service began in 1988 and that interest turns to action in December of 2012. Being connected to what is happening in my community makes me passionate about being a public servant. Serving as Alderman of District 12 would allow me the opportunity to not only represent the interests of the people in my community but the values of the people of this state.

I strongly believe the voice, influence, and common sense of an everyday citizen of this community like me is welcome in this stagnant and sometimes cloudy political climate. Having a true connected resident of our community representing the interests of all of us in District 12 is vital in the progression needed to reach the ideal vision of what we see as a better place to live, a vision that leaves our households free of worry, and confident in our leaders to make cost effective decisions with our tax dollars.

Waukesha is a great place to live, but Waukesha is not without its challenges. We have areas of our city that are experiencing a rise in crime, neighborhoods that need cleaning up, and citizens’ issues that have gone unheard. These are issues affecting the residents of Waukesha and District 12 and require a new view from one of those residents. This process empowers citizens to make this choice and elect a peer to this position, and I’d be honored and excited to take on this responsibility.

I invite you to follow the campaign updates on Twitter at @perry4alderman, on Facebook at Vote Perry, and the campaign blog at  http://perry4alderman.blogspot.com  I look forward to connecting with everyone in any way that is available to ensure issues are heard.