For Gary Daggett, the decision to run for re-election was a no-brainer. He decided when he ran for the first time in 2021 that he would serve as long as he could.
What attracted he and his wife to the village in 2010 was its “active diversity.”
“One of the things that was really important to us was somewhere that was diverse because we wanted our kids to have a place where they felt like they were represented,” he said.
He thought his perspective, which strongly values communication with residents, was needed on the board.
“I think good communication starts with good listening,” he said.
There have been cases recently where some residents said they didn’t feel included in communication and decision making, and Daggett said when that happens, the village needs to take it seriously.
“I think a lot of it is doing as much listening as we can on the front end, then evaluating how our communication went and applying those lessons to the next time.”
He thinks that attention to communication is already paying off. The controversy over the detention basin near Heather Hill School contributed to better outreach during the planning of the downtown streetscape project, slated to begin this spring.