Dear Friends and Neighbors of East Ridge,

I would like to take this opportunity to announce that after much consideration and prayer, I have decided to run for a position on the East Ridge City Council. As a lifelong resident of East Ridge, I truly believe I have what it takes to represent the citizens of our city. In 1980, I graduated from East Ridge High School and two of my three children are East Ridge graduates. I graduated in 1981 from Chattanooga School of Practical Nursing specializing in Long-term Hemodialysis and have worked since 1984 taking care of patients having to deal with the process of dialysis.

With the birth of my third child, I was blessed with the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom but still continued to keep my license up to date. How does all this qualify me for council? Because it has allowed me to work and care for others.

In my years of nursing, I had to gain the trust of patients and I feel as though some of my friends and neighbors have lost trust in city government and we need to regain that trust. I feel I am the woman who can start this process by transparency and accountability and willingness to listen to the citizens of East Ridge.

Women are underrepresented in elected office because we underestimate our qualifications for office relative to men. This is partly because we are normally the primary caregivers of our family.
East Ridge is already on the cusp of some amazing growth and I believe I could help to maintain and even continue with the growth of our city through revitalization.

As a forward thinker, I would like to take advantage of every opportunity to make a difference in our city. For example, the Border Region Act has six years left for progress. Utilizing the Border Region Act to its full strength and capacity, I will do my best to make sure we as a city utilize every chance of growth with any avenue available to qualifying businesses.

As a city council member, I would continue my support for the first responders as well as other city employees. I would continue to work to see the progression of growth continue throughout our city so that we change the perception of how surrounding areas view East Ridge. I would like to see our city become a family friendly city where generations will want to reside.

Sincerely,
Esther Helton