Andrew Coolidge calls local woman he’s never met an “extremist.” Her response:

Chico Mayor Andrew Coolidge calls local woman extremist; here’s her response

Jessica MacKenzie had something to say to Coolidge after he named her as an “extremist” in the Chico ER last week.

Mr. Coolidge: I’m confused. Do you know me? Have we met? I do remember reaching out to you multiple times at the beginning of your tenure as Mayor, asking to meet, offering my services. You didn’t give me the courtesy of a reply. Not once. Yet you now feel comfortable attributing an extremist agenda to me? Wow!

I haven’t really thought of myself as having any kind of agenda, but if I did, it might BEGIN something like this:

Transparent and equitable governance.

Solutions over arguments.

The greatest good for the greatest number.

More calm, less clamor.

Facts over hyperbole.

Community first.

Inclusion versus division, and

Development that balances growth, diversity, and mindful care for our environment.

Pretty radical, I know

Last year, heading into an election, I wrote: Today I will learn whether the nation that I call home is still the one I hold in high regard, a web of shining cities on hills, a champion of huddled masses yearning to breathe free, where even when we fail to hit our mark, we aspire to honor all people, all faiths, the rainbow panoply of our citizenry.

Perhaps THAT – more than anything – is (still) my extremist agenda.

— Jessica MacKenzie, Chico