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Headline RSS FeedKudos to a council that understands the value of family
November 6, 2007 — I’m 32 years old, newly married, and a Vail voter. In that last regard I am fairly rare, as there are very few Vail voters who fit that demographic.
Which is why I’m pleased that, no matter what happens with today’s election results, I’m confident the new town council will understand the importance of keeping families, young people and middle-class people in Vail.
The town has done fairly well, over the years, making sure employees and seasonal workers have a place to live in town. More work needs to be done in that regard, but now it’s time to see some action toward encouraging people in their thirties and forties to stay here.
When I have children I want them to grow up here and to have the same kind of childhood I did growing up here in West Vail. There were always other children to play with, and we almost always played outdoors. Neighbors were watching us while we weren’t aware, and although we didn’t know it, we were always very safe under the collective village eye.
A completely free economy, left to its own devices, would leave Vail a large, lucrative, beautiful and empty place. People like me simply could not afford to stay. Even now, my wife and I are pulling off some highly-acrobatic financial and logistical gymnastics to keep our toehold in this town.
Despite my philosophical resistance to government interference, I believe the town government is one of a very few entities capable of encouraging families to stay in town – and I mean here in TOWN, not downvalley, but right here in Vail.
This website is another entity which I believe can help in the effort. The people involved in this site are longtime locals, or grew up here, or live elsewhere yet have old ties to the town. We all understand the importance of the real Vail.
I also believe that the candidates running for council this year, each and every one of them, understand the real Vail, and will work hard to keep it just as real as it was when I was a child.
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