Mattsletters: Mayor Andrew D. Gillum of Tallahassee Florida

1/03/2017

Mayor Andrew Gillum

c/o Office of the Mayor

City of Tallahassee

300 South Adams Street

Tallahassee, FL 32301

Dear Mayor Gillum,

My name is Matt Winick from Ann Arbor, Michigan with a strong interest in learning history with public policy. In these subjects, I like to learn the need to advance on Civil Rights, protect the environment from pollution, and many others. Mayor Gillum, the main reason I’m writing you a letter is to explain how I find your work as current Mayor of Tallahassee, Florida to be very inspiring to me and to share with you how I enjoyed listening to your DNC convention 2016 speech.

In your current role as Mayor of Tallahassee, Florida I’m very proud on how you are a strong supporter of protecting women, minorities, and people with disabilities’ from being discriminated in public places and education. Also on Civil Rights, I like on how you support funding women including minorities businesses to help them compete in the economy, advocate for people with disabilities’ rights, push for laws to combat against hate-crime, and express the need for women to have equal pay. On the criminal justice reform, I liked on how you worked with City of Tallahassee including the police department along with community organizations to create Operation Safe Neighborhoods to increase law enforcement in neighborhoods to keep them safe from crime, expand treatment programs to help drug users get the care they need to reduce drug addiction, have community service for non-violent offenders including non-violent juveniles be rehabilitated so they won’t re-offend, work with law enforcement to find ways to reduce racial profiling to protect minorities from being discriminated, and push for funding for forensic science with DNA testing to reduce sending an innocent person into jail along with solve a crime efficiently. Launching “Tallahassee Mayoral Fellows Program” to give graduate students a chance to have an experience working for the city government and implementing “1,000 Mentors Initiative” to recruit men and women from different diversity to help youth in need along with expand youth mentoring programs to help youth get help on their education or keep them off from the streets are great ways to help the youth community and give them a chance to help an experience on understanding how city government works. Your approach on education reform like expanding early childhood education to help them develop reading skills to help prepare them for school, funding special education to help students with disabilities’ get educational accommodations they need to learn, expanding after school programs to help youth get assistance on their assignments from tutors, and funding programs like arts including diversity classes to make the education system diverse are great ways to make education reform a better place. On the economy, I like on how you expand on job-training programs to help youth including workers develop job-skills to help prepare them for the work force and encourage small businesses including industries to use energy efficient products to reduce high energy cost. Pushing for funds to help clean up parks including water resources to make them safe for people to use and supporting renewable energy resources (solar, wind, biofuel, and energy efficient products) to reduce addiction to oil with gas are a great ways to protect the environment.

Mayor Gillum, I have Autism with a learning disability. Having a disability is hard for me because I have trouble comprehending on learning different subjects, sometimes I struggle to communicate my thoughts, and get teased. Your commitment to be a strong supporter of Civil Rights and be an advocate for people with disabilities’ rights really inspires me to work hard on my disability. In July 2016, I enjoyed watching your speech at the DNC because I liked on how you explained on how you work hard to overcome your struggles on getting an education along with overcoming different challenges and emphasized the need to reduce racial profiling in the law enforcement, and the need to repair relations between minorities and law enforcement. Your DNC speech along with your story about overcoming your struggles motivates me to learn that when there are challenges or obstacles it is important to not give up. Also your role as current Mayor of Tallahassee, Florida drives me to continue my interest in learning history along with public policy. My future goal is to someday work in history or public policy to help create common sense ideas to make society a better place.

Mayor Gillum, I strongly believe that you are making a great difference in your current role as Mayor. I’m proud on how you work hard to make great achievements. Your DNC 2016 speech was great and had a great message. You have inspired me to work hard on my disability, continue my interest in history, and to listen to your speech. Here is a picture of me as a gift to you for inspiring me. Thanks for taking the time to read my letter, making a great difference, and inspiring me. I wish you well for the New Year and to continue to make a great impact on society.

Sincerely,

Matt Winick