Vote for Me...

I've thrown my hat into the ring. I'm running for Eau Claire Village president on a platform that includes food and water, and because of contaminated industrial sites, even the air we're breathing is an issue.

My slogan (no kidding), " A free range chicken in every pot."

Close seconds, "Local food on every table," "Clean water at every sink," "I like Lee.""

We have really old water mains needing replacement, but because we're a village of less than 500 people, we struggle financially, and folks think a new water system is beyond our reach. I pledge to work toward a better water system. After all, my family is drinking the water too.

I want to bring food back into the lives of Eau Clairions. We are so lucky to live within this Great Fruit Belt, yet our access to local food for year around consumption is as poor as the next guy's.

So one thing I'm going to push the council for: A change in the ordinance now disallowing animal husbandry. It's simply wrong, very simply and very wrong, that residents of our little village cannot access safe meat. I see nothing wrong with allowing folks to raise a few animals for family consumption within the village limits. It's a heck of a lot better than telling them if they're going to eat store-bought chicken tonight, there's a better than 60% chance it's tainted.

For those who do not have enough space to raise a head of beef or other animal(s), I'm going to be proposing we develop a plan to utilize the village's farm (over 100 acres), for village residents to grow gardens, raise livestock, and to establish a small, licensed kitchen for community residents to process their own food for winter consumption. Just because we can't access locally produced food year around at the chain store supermarkets, doesn't mean we can't be eating local food year around.