After Knocking on 4,800 Doors, Dr. Kim Has Done Her Homework for Saturday

If personal contact and

door-to-door campaigning are keys to success in local politics, Dr. Kim Fralick should be a shoo-in to be elected to one of five seats on the Central City Council this Saturday.

The petite Central veterinarian says she has knocked on more than 4,800 doors, leaving most of her competitors far behind in the door-knocking competition.  Besides Fralick and JohnVance, the two mayoral candidates, Jr. Shelton and Dave Freneaux have also done their share of neighborhood canvassing.

Dr. Fralick says being a woman has been a plus for her campaign.  “Many people, male and female, tell me they want to have at least one woman on the Council.”

Fralick is a conservative Christian and is not into “gender politics.”  But she does think a woman can bring special traits to the City Council, such as the ability to listen and the ability to empathize with the other person.

“I remember visiting a lady on the campaign trail who has been having a problem with her ditch.  It’s on city property and is their responsibility.  But the city hasn’t been doing its job.  The ditch has big holes in it, large enough for a child to fall in, and the lady feels it is dangerous.  Some of her neighbors have similar problems, got tired of waiting on the city, and hired someone to fix the problem in front of their houses.  But this lady doesn’t have the money to do that.  I don’t know, my heart just went out to her.  I put myself in her shoes, and I have a passion to help her,” she said.

“Sometimes a woman can help bring people together to agree on a compromise.  I believe in strong principles.  So they have to be ‘principled’ compromises, where people maintain

their principles while finding a way to come to a reasonable solution.”

One thing Dr. Fralick has noticed is that men and women in Central seem to have different hot-button issues.  “Women talk more about the school system and public safety, or crime.  Another thing women talk about is the need for more retail businesses.  I don’t hear that issue much from men.  Men talk more about issues such as drainage, pot holes, or problems with their driveways.  I think there is wide agreement among the men and women of Central about the major issues, but they do tend to talk about different things.”

When asked if she has had any surprises during the campaign, Dr. Kim cited two things.“As I have campaigned all over Central, I’ve visited so many areas I wasn’t familiar with.  I am so impressed with how well most of our neighborhoods are maintained.  People take pride in their yards and their homes.  It’s such a beautiful area!”

“The other thing that has surprised me is the change I have seen in myself.  I had been watching city government for the past four years and didn’t like what I saw.  I wanted to run on principles, and frankly I was a little angry.  But what has happened to me is I have fell in love with the people of Central.  They are really wonderful, hard-working Christian people.  They pay a lot in taxes, and they deserve someone who really cares about them to represent them on the Council.  Today, after meeting so many people, I truly have a passion to serve them.”