We begin, as always, with hope.

Hope that, this time, it will be different. That the constant 8-3 (same eight, same three) vote on important issues will be gone. That somehow the problems that plague downtown — drugs, homelessness, poverty, mental illness — will be dealt with. That truly affordable housing can happen.

That this council will allow adequate opportunities for proper citizen input and proper debate. That our sidewalks will continue to be plowed and that someone will finally fix Charlotte Street, so you don’t feel you are driving over a washboard. That tax increases will go back to no more than the rate of inflation.

It’s a lot to ask. But we can hope. We can always hope.

We must also be realistic. Really, we must.

Addiction, homelessness, and affordable housing are problems faced by almost........

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