We have wrapped up the Community Conversations for now and are getting ready for the big town hall which will be a very collaborative working event on April 27 at 7pm at Farnsworth Park Community Building.

One recurring theme during the conversations was the Town Council. Many attendees expressed interest in knowing more about how the Council works, etc. The following information is from the Neighbors Building a Better Altadena (NBBA), blog:

On June 10th, 2017, Altadenans will have the opportunity to vote to elect our own community representatives to serve on the Altadena Town Council (ATC). Our all-volunteer Council deals with diverse issues including public safety and development. The people who serve are volunteers – and their work shapes a lot of the big policy issues impacting our community.

Every year, candidates from each of our eight census tract areas can put their hat in the ring, get out and talk to their neighbors, and hope to get the votes to win the two year term to represent their neighborhood.

Are you interested in running? Great! Here are some hints to get started:

  1. Go to the next ATC meeting, held every third Tuesday of the month, at 7 PM, at the Altadena Community Center, to familiarize yourself with the players and issues. Take some time at the end of the meeting to meet your representatives, and talk to them about what it has been like as a representative, and issues in our town.
  2. Familiarize yourself with the rules of the ATC, and some of the issues they’ve handled.  Our “Altadena Politics” tab has a lot of information and links for you to read up on the Council and its history, including links to maps showing the eight districts within our community.
  3. Soon, the current ATC will appoint an election committee who will develop a calendar for the June 10th election, including filing deadlines, early voting dates and locations, etc.  We will post the information here – but both the ATC website and the independent Altadena Election website will also post information. Stay up on the information so you don’t miss your deadline to file for your candidacy.
  4. Get to know your neighbors. Do some door-knocking. Start to understand what your neighbors are concerned about, what they care about. Let them know about your intention to run.

On June 1st, NBBA will be hosting a candidate forum, where all candidates will be able to talk with the community about why they are running, what will make them a good council person, as well as hear from the community about what they care about.

Whether you decide to run or not, there are a lot of ways to get involved to help in the election process, and give the feedback our elected council members need to do the best job for our community.

Stay tuned!

NOTE: One place you will be able to vote is at the Main Library in June 10th which also happens to be the date of the “Growing Up ‘Dena” Grand Re-Opening, Kick-Off to Summer Reading and a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Main Building. So not only will you be able to come and have a wonderful day full of music, dance, food and more but you can vote at the same time!