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Gergel sworn in to City Council
July 1, 2008
Belinda Gergel was sworn in Monday as the newest member of Columbia City Council. Gergel replaces Anne Sinclair, who served as the District 3 representative for 20 years.What's the first thing on your agenda?
Well, No. 1 is always public safety. I want to make sure that our police department has the resources that it needs. I'm looking forward to hearing more from our chief about his plans. He's been on board now since, I think, May 1, so I'm excited about seeing where he sees our needs and especially how his office is going to be interacting with our neighborhoods and neighborhood business districts.What do you think your role will be on this council?
I just hope I'm the go-to person for good government working on a host of issues.After your election you have attended most of the meetings but haven't said much. Are you ready to start talking now?
I'm ready to start talking. I think I needed to sit and listen. We had a sitting City Council woman. I asked questions when I felt they were appropriate. I felt like my job was not to really be speaking out for the district when we had Anne (Sinclair) right there. ... I have learned a great deal. There is still so much to learn. We have some very important issues confronting our city that I'm going to need to know more about, but I'm ready.Are you still walking the neighborhoods like you did in your campaign? Is that something you plan to continue to do?
I am. You bet I'm going to keep walking. I haven't been walking in the heat. But I will be walking the neighborhoods again and talking now as the City Council member. I would hope that once the weather breaks and we get a little bit cooler that I'll be walking weekly, several times a week.What are your goals for your first term?
Well, at this point, there is only one term. The goals that I identified during the campaign truly are the goals that are important to me. And that is being very deliberate as a city, knowing where we want to go, how we want to get there, working to address issues of public safety, of neighborhood integrity, to build a strong arts and cultural infrastructure, to address critical needs that we have in this community, like homelessness.How long do you see yourself in this position?
Well, certainly not for 20 years.The State
Adam Beam