Tag: #alittlebitaboutme

A Little Bit About Me

amymcforduvall

I’m not always the first to speak. Often, I’m the last—because I want to make sure everyone has had a chance to be heard.

For me, leadership isn’t about rushing to give my opinion. It’s about making space, listening carefully, and helping to bring people together around shared solutions. That’s how we build trust, and it’s how we make decisions that last.

This isn’t the style of leadership we often see in politics today—but I believe it’s exactly what we need more of. My colleagues on City Council have trusted me with the role of Mayor Pro Tem not once, but twice, because they’ve seen that I can facilitate conversations with respect and balance, even when viewpoints differ.

Leadership isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room—it’s about creating the conditions for collaboration and making sound, balanced decisions. That’s the kind of leadership I’ll continue to bring as your next mayor.

A Little Bit About Me

amymcforduvall

You might have guessed from reading my posts—or if you’ve seen it in blog form on my website—that I love to write. It’s been a lifelong habit. As a kid, I wrote and illustrated more than 80 comic episodes for my sister, and filled notebooks with stories and mini books. One even won a regional award long ago.

Over time, I’ve learned something essential about the creative process, and it’s advice I now share with my own kids when they get stuck: give yourself permission to make it messy.

I mean it. Write the clunkiest first draft of an essay you can imagine. Sketch a tree that looks nothing like a tree. Say out loud: This might not be perfect—and that’s okay. Because once you get started, you realize it wasn’t a lack of ideas holding you back—it was fear. Fear that it wouldn’t be perfect, fear that others might reject it. But that rough version? That’s the seed. You come back, improve it, reshape it—and that’s how something meaningful begins to grow.

I’ve seen this same truth in action over the years working with my fellow councilmembers. Good policy rarely comes from one person working in isolation. The best outcomes come when we open up a first draft—yes, even a rough one—for discussion. We gather input from our community, staff, administration, and together we make it better.

Sometimes, an idea sounds perfect on paper. But then we hear from the people who will implement it or be affected by it, and we learn what needs to change. Occasionally, a policy with the best of intentions just doesn’t work in practice—or worse, has unintended consequences. That’s why it’s so important to stay open to feedback, to revisit and revise, and to treat policy the way I treat writing: start with something, even if it’s rough. Then commit to making it better.

Because the goal isn’t perfection from the start—it’s progress through collaboration.

A Little Bit About Me

amymcforduvall

One thing people may not know about me—I love capturing the world through a lens. I’m the family photographer, the documenter of our adventures, and the one who takes thousands of photos each year on every trip.

Those who’ve traveled or just walked with me know that something always catches my eye: a tiny ladybug on a leaf, a flower unlike any I’ve seen before, or the way the sun sneaks through the trees as I walk by. You can tell a lot about someone by the photos they take—their unique perspective. I hope that by seeing my photos in all of my posts and reels, you’ll start to get a sense of who I am beyond the words I write.

Photography is more than just taking pictures—it’s my way of noticing the little details that make life beautiful and remembering the moments that matter. Through my lens, I get to celebrate everyday magic, and I love sharing that perspective with all of you.