Emmitsburg Town Commissioner Candidate Elizabeth Buckman

(9/2016) Twelve years ago, as a resident of Arlington, Va., I scoured the entire east coast in search of the perfect place to raise my daughter, Hannah. I chose Emmitsburg. Many of you may remember Mamie Kelly. At a time when a single mother would have been an outcast, Emmitsburg embraced her. I believed that if Mamie could have a peaceful life here, then so could I. And sure enough, in the 12 years since I made my choice, this town and its good people have embraced and integrated me and my children. Thank you. My daughters Hannah and Felicity thank you. The people of Emmitsburg adhere to a value system and enjoy community bonds and town spirit that are rare and wonderful. It is time for me to give back and show how grateful I am.

Who am I? First and foremost I am a loving mother who awakes each day trying to make the world better through simply being kind to everyone. Though I am not a perfect mother, I encourage my children every day to give back to the world, our town, and its people.

Second, I am a teacher of students with special needs here in Frederick County, one of the best school systems with some of the best teachers and students you will find anywhere. We value the whole student, which means engaging with the family, coaches, and other teachers, and bringing in other support as needed, including doctors, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, and more. Day in and day out, we work as a team so that each student can achieve success.

Why am I running for commissioner? My goal is to keep giving back to you. I will be transparent and I will listen to you. Don Briggs and the town government already have a wonderful team of commissioners in place. It is my vision to work on that team and with the people of Emmitsburg to keep Emmitsburg safe and strong, to see the people of Emmitsburg open their doors again and live in peace and safety. My vision is that together, as a united and dynamic community, we can take care of each other.

I believe in you, the people of Emmitsburg. United, we can raise the quality of life in our community.

Envision this for Emmitsburg:

• Landlords united in a supportive "Emmitsburg Landlord Association"
• Service outreach united because there is strength in numbers
• People united as neighbors and friends

One day this summer, Kathleen Walker, Libby Briggs, and I sat at my dining room table discussing what could be done to heal the wounds and scars created by heroin in our small town. We realized that the good citizens of Emmitsburg are not used to dealing with big-city crime on our streets. We knew that Mayor Briggs had a plan when he got elected but that he could not make change alone. It would take the whole community. Collectively we came up with a vision: "Emmitsburg Cares." This could be a self-propelling vision that would create the unity and collective action needed for healing the pain that leads to, and results from, drug abuse.

We cannot forget about the efforts of Ted Brennan and Jack Deathridge to raise awareness and push for action on the heroin problem. Their efforts were valiant but we failed to hear their call.

I ask for your vote, not because I have a magic wand but because I care and I will work for united community action to improve our quality of life. As Mother Theresa said, "I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples."