Mayor Visits Clermont"You are a good Mayor " summed up the Robey Elementary Kindergarten class' opinion of Mayor Bart Peterson when he came to visit the students March 29 as part of City Hall For A Day at Clermont. The students' comment appeared to have genuinely touched the Mayor's heart as he responded "and that means a lot to me." The students welcomed him with choreographed singing. Matt McLaughlin, Abby Fessler, David Brewer, Ashlea Gehring, Tommy Garwood and Lily Haven read their essays of why they would like to be mayor. The Mayor was amazed that one of the essays discussed the responsibilities of snow removal, fire and police. He commended the readers for their courage to stand before the entire class to read knowing that speaking in front of a group can be difficult. He displayed an open attitude and invited the children to ask questions that often turned into meandering conversations that required him to use his adept skills to be able to bounce from topic to topic. Discussion included lawyers, losing teeth, the tooth fairy, and moving away. School Board member Trish Logan called his visit with the Kindergarten class "remarkable." "It is wonderful that he met with the children at this level," she said. His visit was not limited to just the Kindergarten class. Mayor Peterson met with the Human Relations Student Advisory Council to answer their questions about being Mayor, public education, role models, and youth and crime. Mayor Peterson answered their questions with some anecdotal experiences while describing his mayoral tenure. He told the group that the hardest part about being mayor is setting priorities when there are so many complex issues evolving everyday that need to be addressed. "It is learning to focus your attention to one issue and saying no to the others," he said. For Peterson, the most satisfactory rewards from being Mayor is to help individuals with their problems. There appears to be a misnomer that a public servant is more interested with developing policy or working on economic development deals than helping individuals. Sometimes people are taken aback when they see he is available to help for that individual assistance. The Mayor confessed when growing up he did not really see people as role models. It was not until after he graduated from college that he pondered about people influencing his life. He credited his mother and father and second grade teacher for their values system that helped shaped his. It was his second grade teacher that molded him into siding with the underdog who is struggling to make achievements. He cited some Colts Football players and their characteristics that could serve as role model for today. First on his list was Bob Sanders because of his can do attitude despite the feedback that he is never good enough. Sanders' positive attitude lets him perform outside of the label. The Mayor depicted the students' involvement with advisory council as laying a good foundation to building a positive adulthood. He noted that it is important to provide positive choices for our youth to help prevent crime. Not all children make the right choices, that is why the Mayor is pushing to create more mentoring and youth programs to deter the youth from bad choices. The Mayor values public education and youths' opinion. He sees public education as one of the nation's best asset because it provides everyone with an opportunity. "Not all people will succeed because they lack the ambition or drive, but public education provides the opportunity for all," he said. The Mayor encouraged the students to join the Mayor's Youth Council that ranges from age 14 to 18. The Mayor created the 25-member council in order to listen to the youth. The Mayor believes the youth are well informed about issues that shape government and policy. |
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