Aaron M. Green, 42, works at Hy-Vee Foods in Shenandoah. He is married of 23 years and has 2 left of 3 children still at home. He is an incumbant running again for the Shenandoah City Council in 2015.
For three years I’ve been telling myself and others that I would not be running for a second term on the City Council. I’ve never believed in career politics, but rather to do your part and then to humbly stand aside. Earlier this year I’ve been doing some difficult soul searching in my decision-making process to run or not run. The answer actually came from the New Testament. Peter and John were arrested by the Sadducees, priests and the temple captain. They were beaten and threatened before the council. At the counsel of Gamaliel it was agreed to let them go.
In Acts 5:41 it states that Peter and John left rejoicing that they were found worthy to suffer in Christ’s name. Now, obviously I’m lower than dust and don’t even come close to the stature or faith of John or Peter but it did get me thinking. Christ is the source of all truth, so I asked myself if my intent and true conviction to serve the people of Shenandoah was still as pure as it was the first time I ran for Councilman At Large. If it was then I should rejoice in the face of the adverse reactions of the past three years. Long story short, my intentions are still true to serve this people according to my conscience. Therefore, there isn’t a legitimate reason not to run for office. It is still my passion to encourage and ensure the Shenandoah residents to pursue the true nature of liberty. I happily do this with my arm at the square at the swearing in.
The greatest achievement that I’ve brought to Shenandoah via the City Council is, without a doubt, the suggestion and inclusion into the regular Council meeting agenda the opportunity to express a positive comment. There is so much good that takes place in Shenandoah! When we utilize this opportunity properly it can harmonize the Council’s decisions for the betterment of the residents. Positive comments can help set the tone of the meeting as we attempt to keep the negativity at bay.
In conclusion I am very disappointed that I will not be challenged on the ballot. That may seem like an odd comment coming from one who is running for an election. However, I know there are better people out there who heard the inner call to serve but have chosen not to seek and elected office. For these people I love them, and hope they will advance other avenues to serve the people, that it may prepare them to run for an elected office down the road.
The platform of this second term is two-fold; 1, Shenandoah to continue and magnify being a city of conscience and, 2, To let the water flow.
I plan to initiate opportunities for the people to exercise their time and talents for the betterment of their fellow residents. I believe this is part of the obligation to the moral trust that we as elected officials have been given. To provide such opportunities. For the second part of the platform obviously we need to get this new water plant up and running. It was supposed to be completed this past March and we are now looking conservatively at late 2016 for completion. We have been plagued with setbacks and problems. It does no good to look backwards and complain. We are where we are and we must work through this in order to produce a water plant that we can be proud of. Though there is probably very little legal recourse we can take at this juncture to rectify certain problems, I believe we as the City of Shenandoah still possess the greatest weapon in our arsenal.
Stay tuned on what you can do to help.
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