Tracy Hall and Mary Balkema
Recorded
September 24, 2022
50:31 minutes
0:00 / 0:00
Id:
dde001647
Description
Colleagues and One Small Step partners Tracy Hall (50) and Mary Balkema (55) talk about their careers in local politics, their perspectives on public service, and the life lessons they have taken away from their work.Subject Log / Time Code
Tracy and Mary talk about why they wanted to participate in One Small Step and they read each other's bios.
Tracy talks about what motivated her to go into politics.
Mary talks about her own political path, and they discuss their experiences serving in county government.
Mary talks about what originally motivated her to run for the Kalamazoo City Commission.
They talk about the process of making change through public policy.
They talk about different approaches to providing a social safety net and addressing gun violence in their community.
Tracy talks about why housing policy feels personal to her, and they discuss how they bring their passions into their world views.
They talk about working on the county budget and reflect on how their values informed the process.
They talk about their biggest inspirations.
Tracy talks about how she would like to be remembered.
They talk about some of the values that they share.
They talk about some of the life lessons that they have taken away from their work on the County Board and in public service.
They talk about some of the times that they have disagreed.
They talk about what they would like their epitaphs to say.
They reflect on what has meant to both of them to have access as elected officials.
They reflect on their service and their time in office.
Participants
- Tracy Hall
- Mary Balkema