Our community has less than one week before Nov. 6 when Election Day arrives. There are many important issues on the ballot.

My husband and I just mailed ours in on Monday and I was reminded again of how fortunate we are to live in a nation where the voters decide on such topics as daylight saving time, on new laws preventing cruelty to farm animals, allowing rent controls to stop spiraling costs that are eliminating housing options, and many other state and local topics.

Democracy is a gift and you will all have the opportunity to exercise this gift but only if you actually vote. In the last local election for our roads initiative, only 22 percent of registered voters chose to vote on this No. 1 topic that our community has addressed at each of the eight forums that were held for the nine City Council candidates who are on your ballot to fill three seats on the council.

While the measure fell short of the 66.67 percent required, it received a 56 percent yes vote to support our roads with a ½ percent sales tax. I have wondered what that percentage would have been if 50 percent of you voted, or even 75 percent.

As a candidate running for re-election, I urge everyone to vote. I’ve been resident for 45 years and know that we live in a community that cares deeply about our future, about our environment and about our economy.

We live here, work here, raise or children here and often retire here. When my family moved here, we were just starting out with a young family of a 3-year-old, 5-year-old and one on the way. Later we would add another child and raise our four children here.

My husband started his own business. I became involved with education. We both embraced and supported youth sports, nonprofits and community growth.

We decided that Tahoe would be our home. We knew that with that came responsibility to be a part of Tahoe’s future. We voted, we ran for office, we served. After four terms on the LTUSD Board of Education and many more years on boards of our nonprofits, as a commissioner with First Five El Dorado, founding member of Bread and Broth, Tahoe Magic, the Tahoe Women’s Community fund and currently on the El Dorado Community Foundation Board, chairing the SLT Cabinet of the Foundation, and having served a first term on the City Council, I offer my public service for another term. During my first term, I served as your mayor twice, voted by my peers.

You as the voter have choices. There are nine candidates running for the three seats. Please consider who you would like to see representing you for the next four years.

There will be many decisions, many opportunities to represent you at the city level on myriad important topics that will effect the future of our city. It is your choice. It is your vote.

I humbly ask that you consider my passion, wisdom, service, experience and dedication to our community in the past, in the present and my 100 percent commitment to the future of South Lake Tahoe.

Now, most importantly, vote!

Wendy David

Candidate for South Lake Tahoe City Council