My name is Janneke House and I'm running for Cambridge City Council. Henry David Thoreau said, "To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts." My parents taught me from a very early age about the importance of public service and getting involved in the community. My father was a police officer and my mother was a schoolteacher. My grandfather worked for the department of the interior as a speechwriter under President Truman and Eisenhower on the topic of our national parks and my grandmother worked for the League of women voters and the national Democratic Party. They would call her when a new president would move into the White House and she would unwrap the gifts and write thank you notes to people from all over the world. I remember from a young age being dragged by my mother going door to door working on campaigns and stuffing envelopes. I guess you can say it's in my blood. After college, I went to work for the mayor of Salt Lake City, Rocky Anderson. He was a very progressive mayor in one of the reddest states in the country. I remember one of the first projects that landed on my desk was started by an article written about how Salt Lake City was one of the worst cities in the country for pedestrian fatalities. We had to fix this. So we started a program putting flags at all of the crosswalks for pedestrians to carry with them across the street. At first, people wouldn't do it, they were too cool to carry flag, but it caught on and soon the city became one of the safest pedestrian areas in the country. When I moved to Cambridge, I was the Executive Director of Cambridge Local First and now I'm the community liaison for the Kendall Sq Association. As someone who lives and works in Cambridge, I know that that residents value local businesses, good public transit, affordable housing, green energy, good jobs, a strong local economy, and more responsive city services. This is the Cambridge way. Filling a pothole on a neighborhood street....that is the highest of arts. Making sure swing sets are fixed in a park....that is the highest of arts. I am running, because I believe that by getting involved and working together we can imagine and actively participate in making certain that our city, and our neighborhoods can be based on the values of respect, transparency and hard-working good government. I am running because it is we who must decide how to build a city of lasting value, to make sure that new developments improve our quality of life, not risk what we love about Cambridge. The greatest communities grow and evolve out of the intelligence of many different people working together over time. That is the highest of arts. With the transition of a new city manager, two councilwomen who are leaving, and the evolution of our neighborhoods, now is the time to elect some new voices to the council. I left my family and friends, moved across the country, left my comfort zone, but landed in the most perfect place. "To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts." I am running for Cambridge City Council to affect the quality of the Cambridge day. Thank you and I look forward to this campaign and ask for your support.