Welcome to Empower You. I'm Amy Stevens. You may have heard Pastor Steve's podcast where we had a
conversation about public policy engagement or civic engagement. You know, COVID changed a lot
of things in our community and this is where the road really exploded in membership and where people
began to get engaged. And so Pastor Steve came to me and said, hey, would you consider volunteering
to help lead this effort? We have all kinds of views in our church, diverse views. And really,
how do we make sense of that? How do we move forward? People are exhausted. A lot of people
angry. Some just trying to raise their kids. How do we stay engaged? And I'm convinced it's through
big, important little things, things that you and I can do every day. And that's what you're going
to hear on these podcasts. You're going to hear from people in the community, school board members.
You're going to hear from people that work in the life pro-life space. You're going to hear
from legislators, people that are going to talk to us about what their lives are really like,
what their jobs are really like, and actually how we can make a difference and or support them.
And so that is the hope for Pastor Steve. That's the hope that I have. And we look forward to
engaging with you. Hi, I'm Amy Stevens and you're listening to Empower You. I am so excited to have
this guest with us today because I admire her greatly. Again, as I've had some guests and I
said, I wish we had 10, 10, 10 of you, 10 of your husband, Tim. This is our County Commissioner,
Carrie Geithner. Carrie, welcome. Thank you so much for having me. Yes, I'm so happy you're here.
Okay. So for those, we, my husband and I know you and Tim and your boys. Give us some background
on your life and prior to coming into office. Yeah, absolutely. So yeah, married to my husband,
Tim for 16 years. Now we just had our anniversary. I have two boys, one that's almost 13 and
one that's 15. So we're getting ready to do the driving year. So it's really exciting, but you
know, Tim and I moved here with the army. He was active duty at the time and we fell in love
immediately and decided to stay here. But we had a lot of adventures before that as well, that kind
of shaped who we are. And I think a big part of why we're so engaged in the community, you know,
militaries have very tight knit communities, but they move and they change a lot. And when
we finally had a place that we knew we were going to stay, I think that really meant a lot to us.
We wanted to have that same kind of feeling of really being engaged, but now it's a much longer,
deeper, you know, kind of root system. You're all in. I mean, you're all in. Exactly. But before that,
I taught high school for a little while. So that ignited a huge passion in me for education. Before
that, I worked in nonprofits. I did fundraising and some marketing. So I have kind of a very
interesting and diverse background and a lot of different things that have really sparked
kind of all the interest that ultimately I'm involved in today. Well, I call Carrie the pioneer
woman because seriously, I'm rejoicing over a cucumber this big that I grew. And then Carrie
has corn in her backyard as big as Nebraska. OK, I don't know how this happens. You are the pioneer
woman and you are a county commissioner and homeschooling your sons. Is this correct? Yes.
And your husband, Tim, Tim Geithner, held the seat that I used to hold for House District 19 slash
20 as we've gone through redistricting. And he is now very engaged in education. Yes, he's actually
the president of a charter school board in our area, Liberty Tree Academy. Yes. Stepped in there
kind of unexpectedly, but they were facing a recommendation for non-renewal from the district.
And that was really, you know, really troubling. And he jumped right in and had really fantastic
relationships and a reputation in the community that I think the board really saw as someone who
could make the changes that were necessary and keep them on strong footing. So that was great.
And of course, he works at the Daniels Fund now. He's a grant officer there and doing grants,
doing lots of great things in our community from that private perspective, which I love.
Philanthropic, the freedom to give. I have to tell you, I went to the civics education event
they had in Denver that was sponsored also by the Colorado Chamber, and I was blown away. I
cannot wait for this to be everywhere. I think civics education, watching kids, students come
alive. Their families were so excited. It was such, it's like the spelling bee, but the civics
bee. I was so taken with it. And I think it's a wonderful project. Daniels Fund does amazing work,
but this, I think, is just so special. This was, uh,
You know, the chamber was excited.
The kids were excited.
It was done well.
I found out how much I don't know.
And we all had to take a test.
It was great, but it was so, it was so very good.
It was just wonderful.
Well, you have been a county commissioner for how long?
Two and a half years.
Two and a half.
Okay, does it feel like two and a half?
No, it doesn't.
Some days it feels, you know, it's a lot like being a mom.
Some days it feels like the days are really, really long.
But somehow the time goes by very quickly too
because there's just so much happening.
Of course there is.
And I want to make the distinction.
We had a council woman, Lynette Crow Iverson on,
who you know, she was telling us
about the oversight for city.
Tell us about the oversight for county commissioners,
our El Paso County commissioners.
What are you over?
The complicated words here are that the county
is a political subdivision of the state.
And so we take on a lot of the functions
that the state wants to do,
and then they kind of push it down
to the county levels to take care of.
So things like DHS,
that's technically a state responsibility,
but then we have a version of the county
that kind of oversee it.
So we have a flow through of money to the county,
but then we kind of oversee it
that there are a lot of rules from the state.
That's probably one of the most complicated things
about working with the county
is the close relationship to the state
when you don't always agree.
But we also have public works,
which takes care of all of our streets and drainage
and all those things outside
of any municipality city limit.
And a lot of people get confused about that
because El Paso County obviously covers Colorado Springs.
It covers Monument Fountain,
Calhan Rima, Green Mountain Falls,
and Manitou Springs.
We have all of these municipalities
that are autonomous
and they take care of their own things
inside of their jurisdictions.
But then you have that unincorporated area
outside of that.
And that's where public works
takes care of all of those things.
So for example, as you know,
you might have an address that is monument,
but you don't actually live in the town proper of monument.
And so in that case,
even though your address is monument,
your roads are gonna be taken care of
in that unincorporated area by the county.
So that's a huge one of our responsibilities.
And confusing for everybody.
Absolutely.
And then we do,
we control the purse strings, if you will,
the budget for all of the county operations
and also the other county elected officials.
So while, you know, the DA's office
and the sheriff and the clerk and recorder,
the treasurer, all of those offices
are completely separate.
We do set the budget and control
the kind of the money flow
for all of those offices as well.
Amazing, right?
Oi, talk about the work.
Now, on the commissioners,
with your group when they're largely,
I mean, they're a wonderful team of people.
Are you assigned then?
What are your assignments in terms of being a liaison?
Sure, yeah.
So of course, yeah, one of five, five commissioners.
And we all sit on somewhere between 12 to 17,
I think is the most boards,
either as a liaison or as an actual voting member.
Okay.
So it's very busy.
Lots of meetings.
I thought I had committee meetings.
I thought Tim had committee meetings.
There's nothing over you.
They are, they're pretty busy.
So, but that can be everything from PPRTA,
which is a joint authority that, you know,
you have folks from the city who sit on that board,
you have folks from the county,
other small municipalities.
But there are a lot of decisions made there.
I also sit on the regional building board.
So overseeing that, and again,
that's a joint kind of regional responsibility.
But then things down to the library district,
which has been a really exciting one for me.
And even down to, I think we have a noxious weed board.
So.
You know what?
When those bills would come at the legislature,
we would go, what?
I mean, who wanna ag someone?
Please help, explain.
What are we doing?
Or tumbleweeds.
There was another one.
Go on tumbleweeds.
And tumbleweeds, you know,
our public works department spends sometimes
a lot of time on tumbleweeds.
You just don't think about all of these things
that can happen and create a whole lot of, you know,
disturbance in our community
and somebody's gotta deal with it.
So yeah, it's a fun one.
That's amazing.
That is amazing.
When you ran for office, what,
well, first, what did you experience running for office?
And is it what you thought it would be?
Because I remember we had dinner one night.
Yeah.
And it was after Tim, your husband,
had run for actually the seat you're in now.
And he did not win.
I remember we knocked a million doors.
And his name ID was not as much up yet.
And you said at dinner,
well, I think someday I might like to run.
And I said, you should, you should think about it.
And then we never said really anything more.
And then Tim ran for the seat that I had held
and he won and he was off and running.
And then we turn around and there you are.
And you're like, I'm gonna run.
Off you went.
Yeah, you know, it's kind of like a bug.
I think, you know what I mean?
You know, when you catch it.
Right.
At that time, my kids were still pretty young,
but there was something really exciting,
the door knocking and the talking to people.
That's the thing that really kind of got me jazzed
in that situation.
And there's something really neat
about connecting with your community on that level.
But yes, my kids were young.
I got into campaign management and kind of stayed there.
And that was wonderful and great.
And I love working behind the scenes
and helping people achieve.
So I think that kind of was very satisfying to me
for quite a while.
And then when the seat came open,
it was so important to me to make sure
that we had someone that represented,
especially the Eastern side, the unincorporated side.
I'm the only commissioner
that lives in the unincorporated part of the county.
Lot of growth.
Lots of growth.
Lots of growth there and wanting to make sure
that our roads stay, you know, up to par
and all of those things.
Cause I drive on those every single day, right?
So that was a kind of a big shift and getting into that.
But I think that the job and the work is so important.
And that was really what drew me in in the end was,
hey, I think I can do this.
I think I can do a good job at representing folks
and, you know, making the changes that I've seen
from the outside that I want to make.
And I think that's really what drew me in
is just thinking, yeah, I can do this.
Especially after talking to so many people at DOORS.
Yes, that's big.
It's really feeling like.
That's big.
I don't think you can win without door knocking.
I agree.
I think that it's so important.
And even if you can, I would say it's not advisable
because you lose that connection with the people.
It's so easy in a campaign, as you know.
There are lots of voices.
Yes.
It's very stressful.
Yes.
And lots of mail with voices coming to your home, right?
Oh, yes.
Right.
There's so much and everyone's got an idea
of what it takes to win.
Yes.
You can kind of end up being really busy in your head
but not accomplishing a lot, if that makes sense, right?
Yes, it does.
Running in circles, trying to put out the fires.
Oh, no, someone said this on social media
and it can be very emotional.
Oh, don't we know.
They're not pretty.
Oh, not pretty, no.
People say all kinds of things.
I had lots of stuff said about me that was not true
and that's really hard.
It's hard on the kids, too.
Yeah, it is.
And my kids have been through it a lot of times.
So we've had to have a lot of conversations about that
and just how to deal with that.
But it's great life lessons because, you know,
maybe not on the same scale if you don't run for office
but we all experience that in our life,
office politics or whatever that come forward.
But so those are really hard things.
Just how busy you are is really hard.
It's exhausting.
And making time for your kids win.
I can tell you, I know, you know, in office,
I would roar off and catch Nick's games
and then have to go back up to Denver.
And then it's just crazy.
Creating boundaries is, I think,
because there's so much to do.
And when you are folks like you and me, Amy,
I know you're the same way,
which just can't wait to do all the things all at once.
And there's just so much to do and so much to tackle.
And there's so much enthusiasm for it.
Yeah, creating those boundaries
so that you can keep those spaces.
Because my kids are absolutely the most important thing
in the world to me.
And so making sure that they're okay.
Now, as they get older, and I know you've experienced this,
they don't need mom around quite at the same level.
That's right.
They're so much more independent.
Your youngest is 13.
Nick was 13 when I ran.
But we made sure, things like learning your laundry,
folding, helping with dinner.
I thought, you know, I waited really
in the right kind of season.
It was a season.
And I knew it was right.
And that's hard, I think, when you have to say,
okay, so Ron is shopping now.
And I don't get my flowered, you know, paper towels.
I remember crying over that.
Now, why?
Probably a stressful day.
But I was like, you didn't buy the flower?
He's like, no, we have basic white.
And I was like, okay, you know what?
You are gonna have to give that up, right?
You are gonna have to get over it, right?
All the things that are very different
in the different seasons of your life.
Now, luckily, I'm a big fan of the Instacart shopping.
So I get to still do my,
now somebody else may not pick the right thing
if they don't have it.
But I have to tell you that the modern amenities
that we have.
Certainly, I've contributed to making it a lot easier on me.
They're amazing.
You've got Alexa wired and Amazon.
You've got your lights, your this, your that.
I don't even know. I can't even smart home.
I can't even go there.
When you got into office, I remember that transition
because I don't think people sometimes understand
that transition from campaigning into office
are two totally different things.
People don't understand.
I am campaigning. I am knocking doors.
I am listening.
Now, listening is obviously always a part of your job,
but they don't understand.
I'm in campaign mode, but we can talk about that
because now I think people are always in campaign mode, always.
You are always campaigning,
but the transition from when you've won a campaign
into now the job itself, very, I think, different.
Yeah, absolutely, and especially when you're a board of five.
I wanted to accomplish certain goals,
and I talked to my community about the goals I wanted to accomplish.
I heard what they said.
I wanted to help get those things done,
but then you step into a role where you're one of five,
and there are so many different interests.
You have to figure out how to help the rest of your board
understand the things that you're concerned about,
share with them,
and also balance all of the various different priorities across the county.
I knew what the problems were with the roads specifically in my district
and the things, but there were also and still are other roads
that are in other districts that are also very important
and are a high priority.
Then going back and telling my community,
hi, yeah, I'm still working on this for you,
but I need you to understand that there are other priorities, too,
that maybe we don't know about in our community
but in other communities in the county.
So I have to learn to, yes, I hear you, I work for you as my constituents,
but I have to balance the well-being
and the fairness of what it means to hear those other perspectives,
just like I want them to listen to me about the concerns
that we have in District 2.
I have to be willing to listen to those concerns
and balance those all.
Because there's only so much budget to go around.
There's only so much budget to go around.
That's exactly right, and we like it that way in El Paso County, by the way.
Well, you have fought for that, for sure.
Not a wasteful budget, but really a working budget.
At the state level, I would hear from county commissioners a lot about,
you pass these unfunded mandates on to us, we don't have that money,
and I get it.
I remember the county commissioners.
I ran a bill that said when we do a bill, every bill,
there has to not just be what it will cost the state,
but we need a section on what is it going to cost our counties.
Oh, people just came out.
Even the lobbyists for CCI said, I'm not so sure.
We're going to take a lot more budget, people.
And I thought, who cares?
Because, frankly, at the end of the day, it does come down to the county,
and the county with all these mandates,
then where's the appropriate money, people, to help us accomplish this, right?
Absolutely, and I think really what it comes down to,
and I'm sure you probably had a similar approach,
but when you're talking about all the different things
that can be paid for or mandated and all the different rules that come down,
it's really helpful for me to continually go back to,
okay, what is the purpose of government?
Because it can be really enticing.
People will come at you with all kinds of problems,
solve the problem, solve the problem.
It's always helpful to pull back and say, is that our problem to solve?
Is that what our residents want us to solve?
And sometimes the answer is not always yes,
and sometimes we want to leave space in that private market, right,
just like the things that Tim has said.
Exactly.
Philanthropy helps solve so many community crises, right?
And they can often be more flexible and nimble.
And, again, we can never forget that every dollar that we spend,
there's a forcing mechanism behind taxing.
And so, of course, we want to make sure that we have the ability
to do the necessary functions of government,
that we don't step so far out that that forcing taxing function
is becoming a burden to citizens,
and that where private interaction can solve a problem,
that we're not taking the ability away for citizens to just get together
and solve their own problems through private solutions and nonprofits.
Yes.
So I think it can be really hard, as you know,
when you frame things and you see things.
in the media and I've heard why wouldn't you want to you know a decision that you
know I had to make why wouldn't you want to feed the hungry so I do want to feed
the hungry but I also have other priorities and and and so in a certain
situation can do we have churches and nonprofits and other groups that can
certainly step in there so that we can maintain our roads because that's my you
know that's our job as the government is that's not something that the private
sector can step in and do is maintain our road correct correct and also why we
need to have freedom over you know nonprofit freedom to be able to help
regulations that stranglehold nonprofits that worse for the community right and
things that strangle hold us at the state level for wonderful foundations
right not helpful in the least we need to always advocate for philanthropic
freedom we always need to do that but there's there are issues that I think
again some people so for example I want to take the election integrity issue
because at the county level there is an oversight right with the El Paso County
clerk and recorder right I would say there's not even really oversight he's
an independent elected official so we have we have you know we can fund his
office as an entirety but we don't actually get to make a whole lot of
those decisions and yet you had I you know it's the reason I bring it up is I
think there's a right way to approach elected officials and I think there is a
wrong way and since this goes out to a body of people of faith and believers I
think it's important you know when I'm when I'm coming to you or if I'm coming
to councilwoman crow Iverson you know hopefully if I if it has to get to a
public meeting those remarks are pretty curated hopefully I've contacted and we
can discuss an issue prior so that I'm not sitting there telling you that you
were going to the gates of hell which which I know you have experienced and and
I I want to hear because I think people should hear it that I know they mean
well but seriously absolutely and I always try to remember the emotions that
come in with yes who are often so frustrated they don't know what to do
yeah and you know there's I draw a lot of parallels to my life as a mom but you
know it's kind of like you know when you get to the point where you're yelling at
your kids you've you've let there's you're at your wits end because you have
forgotten all of the strategies right how to get them to comply right right at
that point you're you've you're that's where you are and sometimes we get
people who come in and they're so frustrated yes and by the way there is a
place for that absolutely you and I just heard of a situation yesterday taking
place at council where where people are genuinely concerned for their children
and they don't know what to do right and so and that's what I mean and when I say
that is you you're you're you just really are out of tools right you you
have gotten to the point where you really don't know how to make the
difference or make the change and and maybe you're I don't want to say
desperate but you're you're feeling unheard you're feeling all of those
emotions so I try to always remember that in the context of what happens but
we're human and the same things that would be hurtful or frustrating or feel
like that's not fair you know that's not who I am those those things all
happen to elected officials yes that can be hard you know I I made some
statements at a meeting that was actually the redistricting Commission
that were heartfelt to be honest we had a lot of opposition in the room
honestly some some folks who were very angry at the history of El Paso County
and they're on the different side of the aisle than I am so that's was kind of
role but I made some heartfelt comments about that the skepticism can be really
healthy in government right asking questions being concerned but when we
cross over into cynicism where we're just certain that you're bad or you're
making decisions because you know you are hateful or those kind of things that
we hear it really destroys the dialogue and so I would you know kind of use that
as a guide is like come in with cynicism ask questions question all of the things
around government that's really important but when we cross over to so
much cynicism that we already believe someone is bad or that their motives are
unpure or and we get into those accusatory mode we really lose the
ability to really move us forward because you know as much as we always
try to keep an open mind again we're human when when people are attacking and
and it's you want to close off you don't want to you know walk straight forward
into an attack so it it really minimizes our ability to have dialogue at that
So I think it's important anytime you're going to speak to someone is if you really want them to hear you
We all know that no one likes to be attacked. There's there's no one that wants to be so
That's important to remember that you will always be
Taken more seriously if you come in respectfully and then I also think you know
You kind of mentioned there's an opportunity for you to reach out to your elected officials doesn't always have to be in a public meeting
You know sit down with them one-on-one and have a conversation that can be more in-depth
Most of our public comment periods are only three minutes and that's so everybody can get a chance
But right, you know if you have a real concern
or a question about something with your elected official set up a meeting make a phone call and
Be willing to actually hear I think that's something we all can work on
It's it is it should be and not always easy, right?
Absolutely in the day of the phone, right if you and I said, well, let's get a group together
Let's privately brainstorm. Let's hear this concern
You always in this day and age. It's always about someone
Filming with the phone with this and I I just don't think that always encourages a dialogue
Where we you and I can look at our interests
Competing interests different interests and get to
Some sort of agreement or yes, right?
That is to me
It's not as helpful. But yet
When we see someone at a picnic or through our party, you know through our party apparatus or we can have it have it talk
You know, we get to learn about each other more, right? I think so. It's it's crazy
but it goes to your point about you know used to be that you kind of campaigned and then you had your job and that
Now you're campaigning all the time and I think that that is really a part of it because it does feel like that
All of the time. Yes that there's always you know
Somebody looking for a gotcha or a less genuine interaction
Absolutely with social media and video and all all of those things
Feels like everyone's a little bit on high alert. Yes, and
Nobody nobody wants to be under a microscope all day long
Yeah, it's a truth no, it's a truth this gotcha mentality this, you know, I
Suspect you before you've even done one thing in office, right? I heard I heard the other day someone had been saying
To the City Council body. Well, I'm watching you and I thought there's two ways to say that by the way. Mm-hmm
Hey, I'm watching you right and let's we could dialogue or there is
Everyone he use a crook and I'm watching you. Mm-hmm
two different entirely modes of spirit behind that right and
very often we don't
You know, I I know from experience
You've come to my defense with people who've looked from the outside said well
Right, you've got no it's not that way at all. Mm-hmm. Same with me with you
I've got not that way at all. I mean if you knew, you know, if you even remotely knew this person, right?
But we face this all the time we face it in a public-facing job
Which I think is tough as a woman of faith then
What are what do you find to be the biggest challenges then in this position staying?
focused on
what I can control or and and
what my role is and
You know, there's a challenge of just saying I can't fix it all, you know
And I can't reach every person who I often think if I could just sit down with you
I think you'd understand a little more. Yeah, no, I know but understanding that
That's just that it's just not possible, right? And so
You know controlling what I can control
And working on what I can work on and knowing that God didn't give me the entire world to fix
You know, he gave me one job
So I'm gonna focus on my job and what I can do and I can't control all the other things. And by the way
There's a much bigger plan and a better plan
Yeah, even if I could control it all yeah, and so just remembering that because you do get into you know
You feel so responsible. Oh and women I think in general tend to feel responsible for everything. I remember coming home one night
Nick we had to be three maybe gone to four and
And
And I was working in a public policy job where you see the worst of the worst of everything, right?
It wasn't even the legislature. It was you know, it was probably more global in nature
And I remember Ron I was just in a mood just all the darkness probably of the world, right?
You come home. It's on your shoulders and I remember
Ron going there's mama holding up the world
And I said, that's not funny, that is not funny.
And I remember Nick laughing his head off
because Ron was picturing holding the world
and then fell down on the ground.
There's Mama holding, and I was like, okay, okay,
I get it, I get it, stop it.
But there is this ability,
there is this kind of pressure to do that,
to feel that, to take what is said personally,
to, we're all human, we deal with so many issues
if you're in public office, right?
It's how can believers support you in this office?
What would you like to see?
In other words, this church, this body,
body of believers that come upon this,
what would help you in this?
Well, that's a great question.
I think we all need a lot more prayer.
And one of the thing is we open all
of our Board of County Commissioners meetings with prayer.
So I would invite them to come down and pray.
You don't have to be a pastor,
you don't have to have any special title.
Any citizen can sign up and pray at our meetings.
And I think that that is really important.
Pray for us privately.
I really do think that we need to be supportive
of those who are in office trying to make positive changes.
And I know this is just hard, right?
Because it's not always easy,
especially when we feel like government's
not going their way, but we do need wisdom.
We do need all of those things.
And I think that all of our,
especially our local commissioners here,
we all want that.
Decisions are hard sometimes.
Sometimes we really struggle over them.
It seems like things would be cut and dry,
but they're just really not always.
And so I think prayer for all of us would be great.
I think, again, coming to problems with government
from a cynicism, right?
Which is, boy, I don't know about that decision.
But not a cynical, you must be a dirty politician.
And I think if we all come.
You're the establishment.
Oh, yeah.
You're the establishment.
I don't even know what that is.
I don't either.
I don't know what it means anymore.
But I do think that doing what we can
to support our leaders and having conversations
and understanding the complexity.
Get to know what your government does,
because oftentimes a lot of the frustrations that we hear,
it's like, oh, that's not even something
that is under our authority or control.
Right.
People showing up screaming and you're like,
no, no, no, no, no, take that down the street.
That's right.
That's the city council.
Be mad at them today.
That's one thing that we hear a lot.
So just be willing to ask questions.
Well, don't shoot first and ask questions later,
as the saying goes.
Because we are all in this together
and we do have a lot of people who run for office
because they wanna see good.
They wanna make change.
It's just not always as easy as we'd like it to be.
After two and a half years, some days I go,
gosh, I've really accomplished a lot.
Probably which most people in general don't see.
And at the same point, I think, but there's so far to go
or there's so much more I wanna accomplish
and there's always new things.
So, just being in prayer, being willing to get out there,
learn about your government,
think about the concerns that you have and ask about them.
And keep an open mind about those that are in government
and know that it is difficult.
Those would be my ways that I think that we can really,
and then just truly get involved in the process.
We know that our kids
are not really learning civics in school
and I'm glad that you brought up that civics B
and how important that is.
No, it's true, yeah.
But to your point, even, there's a lot that as adults
we could learn about civics that we didn't learn in school.
Shocking.
No, shocking that test.
I was like, okay, I'm gonna put that away right now.
Yeah, I'm-
Seriously.
Constantly learning.
I feel like I spend a lot of time
talking to my attorney at the county,
just trying to understand the complexity of laws
and the ways that we can interact.
So continue learning, have a spirit of learning in that
because we all need, I believe very strongly
that this nation is amazing, was divinely inspired.
Yes.
And our founders really understood that
in order for people to govern themselves,
though, they have to understand governance
and they have to understand their government
and be involved and participate.
So that's really important is keep learning,
keep learning about governance, keep being involved,
understand that, yes, you need to vote,
but there's a lot more that you can do
to be involved as well.
You know, most of the time when we have our meetings,
the auditorium is empty.
We don't have a lot of people.
And so what I often find is, you know,
people will read something from the news or read some-
snippet, or hear something, but they really don't have the full context or
understand the situation. And so, you know, be involved. Keep trying to learn
more. I know people are busy in their daily lives, but keep trying to learn more.
It's really the big important little things, because as you and I know, you can get so
consumed, right? Some of it is so overwhelming. I think here at Empower U,
through policy engagement at the church, it really is about smaller, smaller, more
doable things, right? I think that's what keeps us sane. I think that's what helps
our boundaries. I think that's what keeps us happy warriors, so to speak. I think
that, to me, is important. You and I talk a lot about building a bench of engaged
people who can do good within society and help society. And I think some people
just don't know, sometimes, where to find that engagement or how to get engaged.
And that's why I so appreciate the team we have here, but also what you're doing
in conjunction with that. Because you encourage a lot of people to go run or
go do this, and it's good. We have to have, again, wish I had ten more of you,
ten more of Tim, right? It's the truth. It's the truth, because young, you know, our
generations, the generation below you, they're looking at you. Generations
below me, they're looking, right? We have to figure this out.
Yeah, and I think there are a lot of people kind of lost in our society, you
know, a little bit, you know, where are we at? What are we doing? I think that
there used to be a really strong emphasis around the American dream.
And I think, you know, that it's still there. It's still achievable, but we just
don't talk about it to the same extent. So I think you're right. I think, you know,
being engaged and, you know, oftentimes I hear people talking about being an
elected official or being involved in government, like it's this thing that's,
you know, lofty and they don't know how to get there, or they think that, you know,
it's only reserved for certain people, and it's not. We need more people
involved, right? We have local boards that they can serve on. There are volunteer
opportunities on, you know, the county website. There are lots of ways to get plugged in.
Local board is a big thing. Oh, absolutely. You learn so much. You learn so much
through that, right? Absolutely. Yeah. You know, something like the Planning
Commission, which is, you know, all citizens, and they get to, you know, learn
all the rules that we have to know before, you know, we make land use
decisions. So they get to see a peek into that and understand the complexity of
that. And then also, you know, really make meaningful decisions for the
community and make, it's really helpful for the commissioners to hear, you know,
because that's what we take into account, and when we make decisions is,
what did the Planning Commission say on this application? You know, so there's
lots of ways to get involved. That's just what Lynette said, by the way, Councilwoman said. She says the same thing.
When it gets to me, then I listen to the people that had dealt with the issue,
right? And we work it from there. But I think it's important for us to pray for
our commissioners, particularly you're going through a redistricting process
now. I so want to thank you for taking the time to even be here. I want people
to understand what the jobs entail, right? And that it's not easy, and we're so
grateful for you. I'm grateful. I wake up going, okay, thank God,
Kerry Geithner, that's all I'm gonna say. And Tim Geithner, and your boys, because you're
raising wonderful boys. And I really am proud of you, and we will be praying for
you. And thank you. I'm glad you're here. Thank you. That means a lot to me, and I'm
really glad to get to be here. And I hope, I want everyone to feel like they can
access their government. That's really important. So yes, I really appreciate
you doing this, and helping people see that, and understand how to connect. So
thank you for having me.
you