Hello Renton community. My name is Shelley Green. I am fairly new to Renton, having moved over from Seattle last year. I am a married mother of a two-year-old son, and own my own business – a private practice which I run as a mental health therapist. Since the Spring, I have been volunteering heavily on Jami Smith’s campaign, and I want to talk about why. First I’ll say that this is the first campaign, I have ever bothered to volunteer for, but I’ve been putting in several hours a week, including every Saturday morning for the last couple months, working to get Jami elected to the Renton City Council.

I met Jami back in the spring, when I was trying to get more involved in the local goings-on of my new community. My first impression of her was of someone fiercely advocating for the needs of Renton, as we were both at a Legislative District meeting, and Jami kept tactfully interrupting the meeting to make sure Renton was included in the conversation. Since then I have learned over and over how accurate that first impression was.

Since volunteering on her campaign, I have personally seen her take time out of her busy schedule to help a local woman with a housing crisis. I have seen her take extensive notes on the feedback she hears from the community while we doorbell together, and then excitedly discuss with me the implementation of ideas as we trot along to the next house. I have personally watched her ask smart questions, learn, and then change her mind on a position based on new information. But I have also seen her demonstrate a quality of commitment to her own integrity, expertise, and compassion for others that I believe is of rare quality in any person, let alone a “politician.” I have seen over and over again her commitment to Renton, and I say this not as a paid campaign employee, but literally as a random person who ran into her at a meeting and was so inspired by what I thought she could do for our community, that I leave my family’s pancake breakfast every Saturday morning to go knock on doors and pass out literature about Jami’s campaign.

The election is in just a few weeks, and Renton will decide who it wants and then move on with that decision. I’ll get my Saturday mornings back, and the grind will continue along with city management. But as a neighbor, community member, and concerned citizen, I must say: every time I watch Jami engage with the community, my hope grows more intense that she will be chosen to help lead this city for the next few years. She has earned the endorsements of so many respected members of our community for the same reason she has my own time and admiration: her integrity, her competency, and her ability to collaborate with those whose opinions she may not share. Renton is a very special place, a place I’m so happy to enjoy with my family. I believe very strongly that, especially in this time of great change in our region, good leadership is paramount to the continued positive growth of our city. In the spirit of this belief, I hope any reading this may take the time to consider the impact a leader like Jami could have for Renton, and give her your vote on Nov. 7. Thank you.

Shelley Green

Renton