A volunteer from Springfield City Council candidate Callee Ackland’s campaign recently came to my door. I wanted to talk about Springfield, but the conversation felt more like familiar campaign talking points than a chance to discuss what matters to me as a voter.

My concern wasn’t that a volunteer didn’t have every answer. It was that I didn’t feel the conversation made much room for my questions or priorities.

For me, this City Council race is about the roads in my neighborhood, public safety, maintaining what we already have and making sure the money we pay for public services is being spent well. Those are the things I want to discuss when a campaign comes to my door.

I appreciate the time volunteers put into reaching voters. But I’d like those visits to include some genuine questions instead of warnings of things like mythical data centers. You know: What’s working in your neighborhood? What needs fixing? What do you want your City Council to focus on?

I don’t expect us to agree on everything. I do expect a campaign to be interested in the answer to questions about real things in front of me.

That visit happened before I became involved with Jill Cuadros’ campaign, and it was one of the reasons I decided to join. I now serve as her campaign coordinator, but the opinions expressed here are my own.

Mike McFarlane
Springfield