I’d like to think I’m an optimist. So much so that a lot of my friends and colleagues give me a cynical eye because of it.

Oh well.

Anyway, I can’t help it if I see the glass as half full most of the time, especially when it comes to my personal life. However, this column is not about me this time.

I am a resident of Ward 3 and my parents have been for a while now, and the things I like most about the community is that I can use a neighbor’s phone or borrow sugar without apprehension, or sit on my front porch and carry on an in-depth conversation with someone from across the street, without a second thought.

Now, as I speak, the realist in me is slowly surfacing. Now, the things I don’t like about my ward:

The broken, unpaved roads; the dilapidated and uninhabitable buildings marked ‘for sale’; the incessant gunshots ringing around 3-4 a.m.; and unkempt yards and sidewalks.

With the runoff election more than a week away, I’m curious to see what the prospective candidates Gwen Brown or Greg Bjelke intend to do for the ward.

Will they let it go by the wayside to be just another statistic, or will they actually help to improve the area’s landscape and decrease stigmas? Will the crime and violence rate decline?

Will more police patrol the area so residents don’t have to be fearful to walk down their streets before nightfall?

Ward 3 is special to me as it is to many who live in the Ice House, Riverview or Old Town districts.

To whomever wins: please make sure the ward is a place where children can once again play freely, where neighbors can once again fellowship outside of their homes and where the streets are safe. We are counting on you.