Mayor Cathy Clark has selected the winners of this year’s “If I Were Mayor” contest.
In the essay competition Collin Vosler, a sixth-grade student at Whiteaker Middle School, was picked as the winner. He advances to state competition.
“He showed an understanding of what local government does, and had good ideas for local action for our Keizer community,” Clark said.
Finalists were Michelle Ashon-Imoroa, David Ashon-Imoroa and Nina Bastida.
In the video competition for high school students, Katherine Klein was named the winner and advances to state.
“She showed an understanding of what local government does and had a clear action plan for our local environment, activities that build community so everyone feels a part of something special, and community support for education and for our students through community involvement such as mentoring and skills training,” Clark said.
Finalists were Anastasia Lim, Tehya Lewis, Carson Brown and Samuel Solis.
The winning essay:
If I Were Mayor …
By Collin Vosler
I love Keizer with its beautiful rivers, parks, and citizens! How could I make it even better? Well, the mayor guides this fine city. They are the leaders we look up to. Luckily for me, there are many things that I can do to encourage people and make living in Keizer, Oregon, more rewarding. Improved safety, environment, and community engagement will entice outsiders to move in and satisfy those who already reside here. When I am mayor, I will make a difference.
If I were mayor of Keizer, Oregon, I would help the environment. I know that you’re thinking that Keizer is small and there is not much to save, but there are still trees here, and that’s still something. Every small step counts! When we plant a tree or recycle, this place becomes cleaner and healthier. Then, we can say “we helped.” I will ensure recycling in Keizer, Oregon. In Oregon, only 46.7% of people recycled in 2022. That’s not even half!
To help Keizer get recycling, more signs and recycling bins will be available to make recycling easy. I will create small groups to help plant trees and pick up litter to save our ecosystem. Encouraging people to recycle and instructing young children about the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling will be important facets of my environmental focus.
I also want to create a new type of bin for recycling batteries. When people put their batteries in them, someone collects them. Then, the batteries will be recharged. This way, we can reuse our batteries.
Solar panel investment will also be prioritized. The reason I am doing this is because one, batteries contain toxic material that can contaminate water. Two, they contain lead, mercury, cadmium, and lithium, which are extremely bad for humans. Three, they could start potential fires or explosions. Solar panels will also be prioritized to reduce the usage of hydropower and nuclear power.
If we work together, we could also create a kind and closer society at a park, school, or even at a B & S Market. One thing I would do is set up a charity, and one reason is to help the vulnerable but also because giving makes most people happy and makes most of them feel good.
I will also set up community events to bring the community together and promote friendships and relationships. I’ll also set up community gardens, food drives, festivals, and, why not, a community field day. For the other people who may be a bit older and don’t want to do that stuff, we will also have trivia nights and open mic nights. This could not only promote relationships but also make more people want to come here and make our community grow.
Safety is also a very important thing to have in a city. I will improve the safety of Keizer by asking for feedback. What better way to make the community happier and more secure?
I also want to improve our bike lanes because we don’t have very good ones. Especially on busy streets like River Road. No bike lanes make it unsafe for the people on sidewalks because the bikers are going fast, and there are a lot of speeding cars right next to them. With bike lanes, we won’t have to worry about that. This way, more people will ride bikes, which is a lot better because that means less air pollution from cars.
We should also have more CCTV. The crime rate isn’t too high in Keizer, but people are still getting hurt. So, imagine if the crime rate was even lower. Study shows that places with CCTV have 13% less crime than places without CCTV, and that means that I will make sure cameras get put up. We should also have better lighting. Studies have shown that places that have lighting have a reduced 14-16% in nighttime crime, but New York City’s public housing developments had a 35% decrease in nighttime crime.
I hope Keizer, Oregon, citizens will feel a difference. My goal is to make others feel welcome and make people feel safer in this beautiful land. From better safety, environment, and community engagement, I could be a leader. Keizer should be able to thrive.
