As we head into another heightened, polarized presidential election – I hope one unifying truth can all bring us together – our city is incredible. 

Folsom is one of the most sought-after regions in the state to move into, and for good reason. We have beautiful natural resources, an active community, incredible schools, clean parks, thriving economic centers and safe neighborhoods. Who wouldn’t want to call this incredible gem their home?

Which makes it equally important for residents to celebrate what makes this city so special and strive to protect it. As many of us transplants know too well, amazing areas are only a policy cycle away from being something it’s not. 

I am a proud Bay Area transplant to this region. As a third-generation immigrant to San Francisco, my family fled to America for a better life of opportunity and growth. They built small businesses, worked hard for generational security and loved the Bay Area like it was their homeland. 

Which pains me to say, my land of opportunity changed. As I considered raising a family in the place that I loved, I realized my home had left me and so many others behind. Homeownership was a pipedream, traffic is unbearable, the beautiful city of San Francisco changed to something I didn’t recognize, and as a woman, I couldn’t recreate outdoors without fear for my safety. 

Folsom encompassed all my needs for me. It has, as we all know, an incredible culture and environment to live, work, recreate and raise a family. Having seen my home change, it makes me reflect and hope my new home never falls into the same pitfalls. 

This is why it is so disheartening to see my fellow transplants move into a city they seem to want to change. I met a really lovely person in a local coffee shop who had just moved from the Bay Area and immediately shared that we needed to “change the leadership in Folsom”. So I posed the question, “If I may ask – if you did not like the leadership, why did you choose our city over Sacramento, Citrus Heights or another area in the county?” 

They quickly replied “well, I love the trails, parks, schools, shopping, neighborhoods”… the list went on. 

This is exactly my point. We are great because our policies (ie leadership) are great. Greatness isn’t guaranteed, it is made through sound policy decisions that cut through the rhetoric and are unwavering on what works. It is made through the resident support of our public safety, compassionate accountability, striving for results and transparency – all things that our city emulates. 

I think a big fallacy of allowing national politics to affect local decision-making – is it makes us all lose sight of what makes our local neighborhoods so special. We are diverse but united in a love of our city. 

So, as we look at our ballots and cut through the noise, I hope we all take a moment to celebrate the amazing place we have all built through our resident support for policies that work. Folsom’s success is our success – it is ours to celebrate and ours to lose if we do not continue to be intellectually honest with ourselves about what makes our city one of the best in California.  

Stephanie F. Herrera is a current Folsom resident and contributes commentary to Folsom Times. She has over 15 years of service in local, state and federal public policy sectors.  

*The above commentary was authored by local resident Stephanie Herrera and submitted to Folsom Times. The views and opinions expressed in community commentary submissions are that of the authors and do not reflect the views and opinions of Folsom Times, its management, staff, stakeholders or advertisers.

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