Last night began the Independent Candidates town hall. A majority of attendees were younger Medford residents and that is on purpose. It is important for those in attendance to learn about city hall and to know and understand the decisions that are made on their behalf. This was a call to get them fired up and know they have a direct hand in the direction of the city. More importantly, this meeting also served to get them inspired to get their friends and family involved in the community.

Community engagement is a two way street. These attendees gave feedback on their concerns regarding housing, jobs in Medford, transportation and the candidates were just as eager to hear their concerns. The challenge is and remains how to spread the word about the upcoming elections. Understanding these challenges and trying new ways to communicate will hopefully lead to a more informed public.

Last night was also about offering solutions to Medford problems. Among the issues discussed:

• Getting to know the candidates, their platforms and why they are running
• Affordable Housing
• Jobs
• Community engagement, encouraging attendees to help get out the word on the upcoming elections.
• Communications between the younger population and the city council

Overall this was a well attended event, both sides learned a lot about each other and this younger crowd was certainly engaged. They took the opportunities to ask questions, make statements and tell stories around their experience growing up in Medford. This is just the start of such events with very much more to come.