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Howard Shook
Your Neighborhood Voice for Accountability
Why I’m creating this website:
To update you on the crucial policy choices, challenges, and opportunities facing Atlanta in this volatile time; to let you know where I stand on such issues; and to find out what YOUR ideas are for ensuring that our District 7 neighborhoods get the services we deserve.
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One of the highest honors a person can receive is to be elected by friends and neighbors to represent them in public office - particularly in times of challenge and uncertainty.
“Shook, the finance chairman, said he will not vote to raise taxes this year because his Buckhead constituency simply won’t stand for it. He’s eager to see how Franklin’s final budget shapes up. ‘If I voted for a tax increase under these circumstances, I would resign so I could run against myself,’ Shook said.”
“Council Split on tax-increase option,”
The Atlanta Journal Constitution, April 9, 2009
I’m often asked, “What is the worst thing about the job?” The answer comes easily: it’s the frustration of being prohibited from directing various bureaucrats to resolve constituent complaints. I cannot tell a city employee what to do, how to do it, when to do it, etc. – such is the sole province of the executive branch. That said, as hundreds of people know, this office works very hard to handle each and every complaint that comes in. Thankfully, most callers understand that we are the ones trying to be part of the solution rather than the problem. I would love to walk through this building with a handful of carefully addressed pink slips.
“What has been your biggest surprise?” There are more people than you could ever imagine who toil here at City Hall in underpaid, thankless jobs because they love what they do and love Atlanta.
“What is the biggest problem?” There aren’t enough of those dedicated people!
Your support and encouragement allows me to pull into the City Hall garage every morning eager to get to my office, no matter how trying the previous day might have been. Fortunately for Buckhead residents, these unprecedented economic challenges also create a unique opportunity for a much-needed reform and right-sizing of Atlanta’s municipal government than would ever happen otherwise. “Council Split on tax-increase option,”
The Atlanta Journal Constitution, April 9, 2009
I’m often asked, “What is the worst thing about the job?” The answer comes easily: it’s the frustration of being prohibited from directing various bureaucrats to resolve constituent complaints. I cannot tell a city employee what to do, how to do it, when to do it, etc. – such is the sole province of the executive branch. That said, as hundreds of people know, this office works very hard to handle each and every complaint that comes in. Thankfully, most callers understand that we are the ones trying to be part of the solution rather than the problem. I would love to walk through this building with a handful of carefully addressed pink slips.
“What has been your biggest surprise?” There are more people than you could ever imagine who toil here at City Hall in underpaid, thankless jobs because they love what they do and love Atlanta.
“What is the biggest problem?” There aren’t enough of those dedicated people!
We demand responsible city government. A responsible city government faces up to its challenges instead of sweeping them under the rug. Without raising property taxes, we must fix our finances, ensure that we never again furlough our police and firefighters, and put enough cops on the beat to keep us safe, secure our fair share of state funds for transportation to unlock the traffic gridlock, and protect our neighborhoods that are an essential element to any return to prosperity.
The good news is that there is good news. Click here to read about things that we have accomplished or fought for in the last few years (or click on Record on the menu bar).
My door is always open, I take your calls, and I read emails. I am accessible to you because I WORK FOR YOU. In addition to reaching me at City Hall for your concerns as constituents, you can phone me on my cell phone (404-449-2648), email me at Howard@HowardShook.com, or click on the "Contact" button at the top of this page. I listen. Keep in touch.
Sincerely, Howard
