Friends of Sarah G. Norman

Thank you to the Hudson voters who have supported me through the last year (really, 2 years) of campaigning for a seat on council! As with everything else in life, the deciding moments of campaigns and careers are just one event in a lifetime of events. We must go on! And go on, I will, though I do not know at the moment exactly where that will take me.

I am exceptionally proud that my friends Chris Banweg and Karen Heater were able to secure 2 of the 3 seats on Hudson City Council; they are great people and will restore sanity to our local government. They have been a joy to work with for the last 8 months and I am privileged to have played a role in their successful campaigns. My view on all of this is that we "won the war," even if I lost my "battle." This makes Hudson the winner in the end!

If you have a yard sign, please recycle the stake and find a creative use for the corrugated plastic as I will not be collecting them for future use.

TWELVE HOURS AT 43° or below! 1 to go!

So grateful to have my mom supporting me not JUST with her vote, but also with her time!

Thanks for all of your encouraging comments at the polls and your supportive texts!

It’s Election Day! Let’s do this, Hudson!

So grateful for the encouragement of voters and pre-voters alike! Teamwork is what this picture is all about and I am a capable team player for Hudson!

I’ll be doing my part to be sure that chocolate is given out at tonight’s Downtown Merchants Trick-or-Treat (4-6 pm). Our 4 children loved this annual event and were always so excited to see all of their friends’ costumes. The weather is looking good! See you there! (And don’t forget to vote next Tuesday!)

The door-to-door is winding down; Election Day is a week from Tuesday. Early voting is already open at the Summit County Board of Elections. Make a plan to have you voice heard!

My pre-general campaign finance report is in!
Thank you to the 104 contributors that raised over $10,000 to fund this effort!
And I’m especially proud that 90% of that money came directly from Hudson voters!
TWO WEEKS until Election Day—get out and vote!

The last in my series revisiting the questions asked by the Hudson LWV last year:

2020 LWV Question: What is your opinion of community discussions of social issues or reforms (such as the Hudson Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Alliance) and what role should City Council play in those discussions?

What I said in 2020: I spent part of my childhood living in West Virginia at a time when the Klan was openly active and operating and local law enforcement and city leaders did nothing to dissuade them. This experience gave me some very concrete ideas about what does and does not constitute racism. I have a well-rounded understanding of the Constitution and the federal civil rights laws that still work to effect a level playing field for all American citizens and, to that end, I am not a proponent of critical race theory. My thoughts in that regard have been reinforced through my travels and experiences in different cultures where race and ethnicity are viewed very differently than in the U.S. The Council’s role, as a legislative body, is fairly limited except to the extent it can affect policies that nurture healthy relationships between citizens. One example is advancing the purchase of police body cameras ahead of schedule. Our city logo should not be randomly applied to the favorite groups of one or two administrators/officials; this is an abuse of the city’s imprimatur and an intentional by-pass of the legislative authority.

In the last year: Hudson City Council was asked to fund with taxpayer money a fledgling group promoting DEI. The DEI Alliance got itself legally organized in anticipation of the $80,000 gift initially requested by the Ward 1 councilwoman that would buy us programming with no specific achievable goals and which flirted with the government funding of thought manipulation. The program would have been an “opt in” event with a very limited reach. LWV sent a veritable army of speakers to lobby for the passage of this appropriation. The measure was tabled which removes it from council’s consideration for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, the city’s administration stumbles its way through the use of public property for citizens’ free speech with a haphazard “management” that has more often than not stifled speech. Our city leaders have promoted speech that they like--by allowing DEI and certain candidates (including the incumbent's) campaign materials to occupy fixtures (tables/tents) during the Farmers’ Market—while frustrating or banning the speech it does not like (from candidates it does not favor).

I believe that Hudson doesn’t need to spend a dime to make a positive change in the tenor of its public discourse and “corporate culture.” We all have the capacity—right now!--to love others and to speak and act with the compassion to back up that love. We aren’t dependent on the city to tell us how to do that. It doesn’t require any taxpayer funding. Our attention should be directed at our city administration and leaders who have no grasp of the limitations that the state and federal constitutions place upon them. That is the most urgent civil liberties issue facing Hudson today! Vote for Sarah G. Norman for proactive, compassionate, fair, and equal promotion of constitutional ideals for all citizens!

The next-to-last question in my review of last year's LWV question updates:

2020 LWV Question: Our political discourse in Hudson has been extremely divisive in recent months due, in large part, to social media. How will you cooperate and collaborate with other council members?

What I said in 2020: I am, by nature, a problem solver and I can ask meaningful questions or propose thoughtful alternatives that lead towards a better consensus. Some people mistake questioning as a sign of “divisiveness,” when questions are actually the only way to discern truth. The political discourse in Hudson isn’t divisive because of social media. The discourse is divisive because city administrators and certain elected officials won’t listen to listen to residents. Voters want their streets fixed, not money wasted on a flailing broadband network. They want a recreation center, not an over-budget new city hall. They want Hudson’s historic charm to be preserved, instead of having some hyper-dense new development crammed into an inconvenient pocket of town. The responses on social media are a symptom, not a cause of the divisiveness. Our best solution is to elect competent, independent, transparent, and thoughtful leaders for Hudson. I have worked with the Wards 2, 3, and 4 council members as well as the Mayor over the course of years on various projects and my track record as a reliable, engaged citizen is unquestionably solid.

In the last year: the candidate who prevailed in 2020 for the at-large seat demonstrated a severe lack of maturity and judgment by weaponizing comments on social media against those with whom she disagreed. She also used social media platforms to intimidate a citizen who had made lawful public records request and then shared that information with others. In the middle of that, unnecessary social media drama was paraded in Council chambers in an effort to attack a seated council member. Hudson deserves better than this! Cyber-bullying should not be a means of adult discourse!

Representing the people requires authentic, mature people skills: listening, inquiry, analysis, dialogue, and responsiveness. It is one thing to disagree with another person’s opinion. How an elected representative or candidate handles that disagreement is a mark of their character. The discord and divisiveness in our town will persist, and ultimately prevail, if Hudson does not elect diplomatic, polite, mature, and level-headed leaders like me. I learned mediating skills early in my professional career and I know how to listen to opposing perspectives, find middle ground, and build a framework for solutions from that point.

Vote for Sarah G. Norman to oppose cyber-bullying and divisiveness in Hudson’s political environment!

You can watch the Moms For Liberty (thanks, ladies!) council candidate forum from Monday night on this YouTube video:

Hudson City Council At-Large Candidate Forum hosted by Moms for Liberty October 4, 2021 On October 4, 2021, Moms for Liberty hosted a candidate forum which consisted of a short introduction by each candidate, followed by a question and answer po...