Mayor Stephen Benjamin:
Yes, it's actually a mixed bag.
So, the list of concerns and demands, it's actually a mixed bag of things that require local action. Some require state action, some federal, and some actually just address cultural issues that have been part of our DNA since before the founding of the republic, go back well in advance of 1619, but still require us as leaders today to try and address them.
Our conversations have lent itself to looking at these demands. Literally, we spent two hours yesterday going through all of them, then me sharing facts about things that the city is already doing.
But there are also some significant issues on their list that we need to address, and we — but it starts with dialogue. The challenge we have right now, Judy, as you know, is that a lot of people, well-meaning people, are yelling at each other or are silent, and there's not much dialogue.
So I promised to them that we're going to work through this, have real dialogue. The things we can agree on, we will move in advance and get better on. The things we disagree on, we will share those and share our reasons why.
And if we have a fundamental disagreement on some of those issues down the road, then we will let democracy do its work.
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