BY ED FELIEN
Cam Gordon
The huge and spontaneous outpouring of gratitude on the Seward Neighborhood Forum for Cam Gordon was begun by Jim Welna:
Wanted to thank Cam Gordon for his service to our community and the City of Minneapolis as a member of the Minneapolis City Council since 2006. He was out front on many issues that we now take for granted. I appreciate that he showed up for neighborhood and business meetings at all hours. He listened carefully, kept us updated and worked hard to form coalitions on difficult issues. In addition, I want to thank his aide, Robin Garwood, who also worked tirelessly on our behalf. – Jim Welna
Jim and all, I also would like to extend my thanks to Cam Gordon and to Robin Garwood, Cam’s aide, for their hard and long work for Ward 2. We have had two tireless workers for change and improvement in our neighborhoods. Thanks to Cam and Robin Garwood for that commitment to all of us. – Dave Gagne
Adding my 2 cents about Cam Gordon: He is a careful listener and makes you feel heard when you’re talking with him. He worked hard for the neighborhood and got results. Many thanks! – Katie Cross
Absolutely! I have appreciated Cam’s ongoing support of all of Seward, even after the redistricting meant that some of us got switched to Ward 6. Thank you Cam and Robin! –
Sherry Kempf
From the bottom of my heart, thank you Cam and Robin. – Anne Cronmiller
Thank you, Cam and Robin! With great appreciation, Theresa Nelson
I’ll add my thanks and appreciation to both Cam and Robin. I am very disappointed in the election results but hope you can stay engaged as you are both so skilled and knowledgeable. – Audrey Boyle
Ditto what everyone else has said. I don’t think I have met any politician who better embodies what it means to hold an elected office. Available, responsive, collaborative. Irrespective of whether you held the same viewpoint. Cam understood how to build consensus and wade through the mire that is the bureaucracy of governing with tireless optimism. Cam, you will be missed. I hope you, Robin and your crew can take a well-earned breather and have a clear path forward. – Anne Thompson
I would like to add my appreciation, along with the others, for your service to our community. Thank you for your leadership and commitment to the common good. You will be missed! – Eric Berger
. . . and the tributes and thanks continue to pour in . . .
Cam replied:
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
As you can imagine, I have a wide range of thoughts and feelings about last week’s election. I am understandably disappointed with some of the results, including the fact that I was not re-elected to represent you and all the people of Ward 2 on the City Council. But right now, I want to focus on how grateful I am. I thank you for all the kind words, support and appreciation I have felt from so many people since election day. The comments on this list and elsewhere mean so much to me and have been uplifting. Thank you. I am also grateful to my family and to my closest friends and supporters. Throughout this campaign and throughout the years I have been fortunate to have an amazingly tolerant and supportive family, an outstanding group of volunteers and supporters.
I am especially grateful, and I can’t say enough about, the variety of key roles played over the years by Robin Garwood who has been there with me for all our City Council campaigns. Not only has he been there for the campaigns, but also, and more significantly he has been there with me as my Policy Aide in City Hall. His effectiveness, capability, passion and commitment have been critical to whatever successes we have had.
I am especially grateful to the many amazing people who work for the City of Minneapolis. It has been a blessing to work with so many people who care so deeply for our community and our city and are ready, willing and able to help make it a better, healthier, safer, more just, more democratic and more sustainable place. I am deeply grateful for having had the opportunity to get to know, and learn from, so many capable and committed “do-gooders” from the community and from within city hall who truly care for and love our city and our people.
I offer my congratulations to Robin Wonsley Worlobah, my successor, who I will be meeting soon. I am committed to making it as smooth and as successful a transition as I can for her, and for all of you.
And please know, I am deeply grateful to each and every one of you who I have come to know and have had the opportunity to interact and work with over the years. It has been among the highest honors of and greatest privileges of my life to represent you and serve the people of Minneapolis these past 16 years as your City Council Member.
Yours always, in peace and
gratitude,
Cam
