All Politics is Local, and Now More Than Ever, Says Heather Lende
b'Claudia Cragg (@claudiacragg) talks here to Heather Lende, (@HeatherLende) a New York Times bestselling author who writes about her hometown \\xa0-- Haines, Alaska, She has been discussing what community means since she published If You Lived Here, I\\u2019d Know Your Name\\xa0in 2006 (selling more than 125,000 copies).\\xa0 After the 2016 elections,\\xa0Lende\\xa0was inspired to take a more active role in politics and decided to run for office in Haines.And\\u2026She won! In\\xa0 (Algonquin Books),\\xa0Lende\\xa0uses her trademark humor, wit, and compassion to tell the\\xa0funny and entertaining story of her first term on her small-town assembly, where we learn that the political, social, and environmental issues her community faces are not so different from the issues that are being played out on the national stage.\\xa0 The book is a "how to guide" for anyone thinking of beginning a career in local politics.\\xa0 She explains how the local government makes decisions on things that impact us everyday -- roads, schools, zoning for housing and stores, libraries, and the list goes on and on.\\xa0 \\u201cI think that social justice and public health are very much in the realm of local governments, and so much of what happens going forward will fall on the shoulders of people like me\\u2014 elected to local councils and commissions\\u2014 and how we interact with the community and the pressure from different interest groups, and I think my experience might help make that work out better than it has previously.\\u201d Writes Lende.\\xa0 \\u201cAll politics is local, and now more than ever\\u2014 so why not learn about it from a citizen lawmaker who.. did okay, but was not perfect?\\u201d Heather Lende has contributed essays and commentary to NPR, the\\xa0New York Times, and\\xa0National Geographic Traveler, among other newspapers and magazines, and is a former contributing editor at\\xa0Woman\\u2019s Day. A columnist for the\\xa0Alaska Dispatch News, she is the obituary writer for the\\xa0Chilkat Valley News\\xa0in Haines and the recipient of the Suzan Nightingale McKay Best Columnist Award from the Alaska Press Club. Her previous bestselling books are\\xa0Find the Good,\\xa0Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs, and\\xa0If You Lived Here, I\'d Know Your Name.\\xa0Lende\\xa0was voted Citizen of the Year, Haines Chamber of Commerce, in 2004. Her website is'