Keeping an Open Mind

Bill Delaney, chairman of the Recreation and Park Commission and president of Friends of the Park Foundation, pushes tolerance.

“I would like to see Alamedans have greater respect for their fellow citizens. I think there is a need to have more tolerance in the value, faith, and thinking of others. While I believe this is a global issue, I suggest we focus on it here in our hometown, which is actually a trendsetting community.

“Besides being the first California city to create its own municipal electric utility in1887, and one of six other cities in 1917 to pioneer the council-manager form of government, Alameda was also one of the first cities in California to ban smoking and require children to wear biking helmets.

“Let’s maintain our distinctiveness by being a leading city in developing a high level of respect and tolerance for one another. I’ve noticed a need for us to be more patient with elders whose bodies move slower, with the young who need to grow and expand, with the physically, emotionally, and financially less fortunate, and with people whose first language isn’t English. Whether it is waiting in line at the post office or grocery store or walking the streets or driving in traffic, we must share our spaces with one another with greater thoughtfulness. There is more tangibility to this idea than people think.”

This article appears in the September 2014 issue of Alameda Magazine
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