A Parable About Making Tough Decisions Let me tell you about three coastal villages that faced the same problem, and made very different choices. All were beautiful. All were proud of their history, charming downtowns, and loyal residents. All depended on visitors who filled their sidewalks on sunny weekends. And all had aging roads, outdated public buildings, rising costs, growing deferred maintenance and an economic model that was no longer working. For years, leaders in ea

The List of Things We Don’t Talk About The last two weeks, I’ve put the “rhinoceros skin” you grow in public office to good use while seeing many examples of what we’ve quietly decided is “impossible.” We have a long list. Parking structures are “not allowed.” Undergrounding utilities is “too hard.” We can’t build new hotels without ruining the town. Housing can’t exist without destroying our character. We can’t have an honest talk about our untenable parking situation. And i

Loving Carmel — and Owning the Responsibility That Comes With It Good morning to my colleagues, City leadership and staff, and to those here today to help us with our important work. I’ll begin simply. I love this village. I know everyone in this room does too. That love is why Carmel has remained passionate, beautiful, and special for generations. But love also carries responsibility. And sometimes responsibility asks us to talk about things we would rather avoid. The Conver