“This - the leadership of the mayor is crucial, because it is to the mayor that people will look to provide the vision, the energy, and the sense of confidence in the rebuilding and the recovery.”(Morial, 2016) . Being mayor means that I will be voice of the city. I am able to make decisions and make a difference in our community. Planning events, attending meetings, and having an influence on decisions is just the start of my role as mayor. As mayor of Waukesha County, I would work to improve homeless shelters, create a larger budget for the local school districts, and increase drug prevention.

“We have come dangerously close to accepting the homeless situation as a problem that we just can't solve.”(Lingle, 2011). Allowing homelessness to be an unsolved problem is not a solution. In Wisconsin, there were over 12,000 individuals who claimed to be homeless (Gordon, 2016). Men, women, and children of all races and backgrounds were found to be homeless in 2014. Some of which were veterans and victims of sexual assault. In Waukesha, we have two main homeless shelters which are the Hebron House and Family Promise. We also offer three different locations that provide social services to the homeless which includes The Salvation Army, The Hope Center, and Volunteers of America. As mayor, I would look to provide more funding for these facilities. I would be able to do this by increasing taxes and creating fundraisers. This would allow the homeless an easy transition into everyday life here in Waukesha. It would also supply the food pantries with enough food and supplies to offer something to everyone. Helping these facilities would decrease the amount of homeless people in Waukesha County.

“A school budget is not just a collection of numbers, but an expression of our values and aspirations.”(Lew, 2012). Allowing schools more money for their budgets would in turn allow our children of Waukesha County easier access to their goals for the future. School is the number one learning spot for children and teens that can pave the way for future careers. With more fundraising we would be able to provide  more materials and learning aids to these schools will enhance the children's learning environment and provide a safe place for kids to grow and develop. If children don’t have a good learning environment, it affects their opinion on further schooling. To increase the budgets of both local schools and homeless shelters we will hold monthly fundraisers at schools, churches, and local businesses. This will allow us to provide more money to these organization and significantly  better Waukesha County as a whole,

In 2016, sixty people died of opioid related drug overdoses in Waukesha County. The numbers of drug related deaths has been increasing over the years and we, as a community, need to stop it. Providing more things such as more drug awareness programs at schools, offering more programs such as  pill drops and other drug related programs would help today's youth become more aware of the dangers that drugs can cause. There are a lot of non-profit organizations that will provide these events, which is how we will be able to fund for these activities. Making more of these programs available will hopefully decrease the amount of drug related deaths in Waukesha County.

As mayor I will strive to improve Waukesha County and create a plethora of tools, opportunities, and activities for our citizens. With these projects we will not only create an active community but also a safe one. I believe that giving more funding to schools and homeless shelters, and providing more resources for drug awareness is important. With these changes, I believe that some of our serious issues in Waukesha County will be resolved. Thank you for your time and vote for me Courtney Merenkov as your future mayor.