My professional, governmental, and volunteer leadership experience is why you should support me to be the next Mayor of Canby.
Our now immediate past City Administrator made a serious error in judgement in May by presenting the City Budget committee a budget that did not follow the City Councils’ recommendation on unassigned reserves. It was obvious at the May 15th Budget meeting that this came as a surprise to the mayor and members of the City Council.
My question is why was this a surprise?
From a 1950’s ‘the boss is always right’ management perspective, she made the mistake, and she needs to be punished. This attitude seems especially popular with elected officials that have little to no respect for government employees. You hire them for their knowledge and experience, then ignore their counsel and blame them when things go wrong. This management style leads to mistrust, low morale, and high employee turnover. Canby seems to excel at this management style from our Mayor and City Council.
The Mayor and City Council are equally to blame for this budget fiasco. Good leadership focuses on high priority items. The budget is a high priority item and should be the number one priority of the Mayor and the Council. Good leaders don’t just assume everything is going fine. Strong leaders don’t sit and wait for employees to make mistakes, especially when the task is important. Effective leaders have regular and ongoing communication with employees on high priority projects. I see no evidence of this with our City Administrator in the preparation of the 2025-26 budget.
Based on my leadership and experience, I would suggest the following:
Our reputation for chewing up and spitting out City administrators won’t help us hire the best and brightest. The citizens of Canby deserve better.
David Tate
Canby Budget Committee
Canby Urban Renewal Budget Committee
If this is your first visit to the website, welcome! Thank you for taking the time to be informed about your vote. I think you will find I’m the best candidate to bring leadership to the City of Canby in the coming years.
Over the months I’ve been campaigning, the question I seem to get the most is, “What is your vision for the future of Canby?”
The Mayor shouldn’t decide Canby's future. I’m running to prevent outside major party influence from determining our community's future and using the Mayor to make that happen. The people who live in Canby should decide on our future.
My vision of Canby isn’t about housing, roads, parks, or transportation. While those are all critical projects, you manage projects, not lead them. Leaders lead people, and my vision is about the leadership of our city council.
As Mayor, I can’t control how city council members vote, but I can ensure they have heard every side of the issue before voting. Three things must be considered before any policy is adopted.
Quality. Canby is a great city, and we are all committed to keeping it that way. We don’t deserve poor services or cheap fixes. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing it right the first time.
Affordability. Before any new tax or fee is added or increased, the city council must consider that many of our citizens struggle to pay for housing, food, and healthcare. Those voices need to be represented before any vote is taken.
Equity and Equality. Both are important in the City of Canby. More than inviting everyone to participate is required; everyone must feel welcome and be encouraged to participate. Our city council, committees and commissions, and city staff must represent the diversity of our community and feel safe and heard when they advocate for members of our community.
Balancing these three things isn’t easy—just ask any parent raising a couple of kids. But governing shouldn’t be easy, and spending other people’s money shouldn’t be easy. The city council needs strong leadership to help make the most informed decisions that benefit all of us.
I’m not asking to be the Mayor because it’s easy. I’m the best qualified because I know it is hard, and I have the professional, volunteer, and political leadership experience to do it without outside political interference.
I’m counting on your vote!
Canby Pride has stepped-up to host a "Meet the Candidates for Mayor" event. They have confirmed to me that this event is open to the public.
The event will be at the Canby City Library on Thursday, October 24 at 6:00 p.m.
I encourage anyone still deciding about who is the best Mayor for our future to come down and get your questions answered.
Are you looking for information on local candidates and state ballot measures? The League of Women Voters publishes this information specifically for you based on your address.
Visit their website, https://www.vote411.org/, and enter your address. Then scroll down and click the bright green "Save and Review Races" button. Every candidate was allowed to participate free of charge.
Your voter pamphlet(s) will arrive in the mail around October 10, and your ballot will be mailed on October 16.
Use this link to view the article. { CLICK HERE }
{ CLICK HERE } to see my remarks to the Canby Area Chamber of Commerce's "Candidate's Forum" on September 3, 2024.
Labor Day is the start to the official campaign season. Although this is my first entry into Canby politics, this is not my first campaign. Over 50 years ago, the Tate family was gearing up for campaign signs and meeting the public.
On August 7, I was notified that my campaign application was complete and my voter signatures were verified. The final step was signing my official intent to run with the City Recorder.