Mom for City Council

Mom for City Council. Written by Jessica Malorty. Illustrated by Karen B. Jones. Focus question. How and why does mom run for city council?

妈妈竞选市议员 作者：杰西卡·马洛蒂 插画：卡伦·B·琼斯 思考问题 妈妈为什么以及怎样竞选市议员呢？

It all began one afternoon at the Springfield Firehouse, where my mom works. How can we do our jobs when the roads are so bad? Sergeant Goodman grumbled. You try talking to the city council, Chief McConnell replied. They say there's no money in the budget for fixing the roads. Then the budget needs to change, my mom declared. I'm tired of our concerns being ignored or put off until later. Folks in this town rely on the fire department for help. We need a bridge over the river to help with traffic, and we need to fix the roads.

故事开始于一个下午，就在我妈妈工作的斯普林菲尔德消防站 路这么难走，我们怎么出任务啊？ 古德曼中士抱怨道 你去找市议会说说看啊，麦康奈尔队长回答说 他们说预算里没有钱修马路 那就要改预算！我妈妈大声说 我受够了我们的诉求一直被忽视、被一拖再拖 镇上的居民都靠消防队帮忙呢 我们需要在河上修桥疏解交通，还得把马路修好

That's when I looked up for my homework and decided to jump in. Mom, I said, you always tell me that instead of complaining about things, I should think about how to change them. How can you change these things? My mom shook her head and sighed. My job is to put out fires, Jasmine, not fix the roads. I looked down and read quietly to myself from my social studies textbook. At the local level, communities are governed by city councils. City councils make laws, plan major projects, and work to improve their communities. City council members are elected by local citizens to represent them and their needs. Suddenly, I had an idea. What if you were on the city council, Mom? I exclaimed. My mom laughed, but Chief McConnell rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

这时候我写完作业抬起头，决定掺和进来 妈妈，我说，你总告诉我，与其抱怨，不如想办法改变现状 你能怎么改变这些事呢？ 我妈妈摇了摇头，叹了口气 我的工作是灭火呀，贾丝明，不是修马路 我低下头，静静读着我的社会学课本 在地方层面，社区由市议会管理 市议会制定法律，规划重大项目，还会出力改善社区 市议员由本地市民选出，代表市民和他们的诉求 突然，我想到了一个好主意 要是你去当市议员呢，妈妈？ 我大声说 我妈妈笑了，可麦康奈尔队长却若有所思地摸了摸下巴

You know, she's right. We could use a voice like yours in there, Kyla," he said, passing laws, promoting safety, prioritizing the people's needs. My mom looked thoughtful. I've never really thought about it, she admitted. Think about it now, Chief McConnell said, arching an eyebrow.

你看，她说得没错 议会需要你这样的声音，凯拉，他说，制定法律、推动安全建设，把民众的需求放在首位 我妈妈露出了若有所思的表情 我从来没认真想过这件事，她坦言 那现在就想想吧，麦康奈尔队长挑了挑眉毛说

A few weeks later, my mom and I took a trip down to Springfield City Hall. We asked the election official what mom needed to do to run for city council. First, the official asked us where we lived. You see, Springfield is made up of ten districts, she explained. Each district is represented by one city council member. She pointed to a map. Our district, Ward 6, was in the western

几周后，我和妈妈来到了斯普林菲尔德市政厅 我们问选举工作人员，妈妈竞选市议员需要做哪些准备 首先，工作人员问我们住在哪 你知道吗，斯普林菲尔德一共分成十个选区，她解释说 每个选区由一名市议员代表 她指着一张地图 我们的选区第六区，位于西部

Luckily, my mom's firehouse is in our district, so she had plenty of local support. We talked to librarians, teachers, and police officers, as well as doctors and nurses at the community hospital. They all signed, and so did my mom's fire company and our friends, family, and neighbors. In two weeks, we had over a hundred signatures, so we took them back to City Hall. The next day, the newspaper ran a small article. Local firefighter Kyla Walker running for Ward 6 seat. The race was on.

幸运的是，妈妈的消防站就在我们选区，所以她有很多本地支持 我们找了图书管理员、老师、警察，还有社区医院的医生护士 他们都签了名，妈妈的消防站同事、我们的朋友、家人和邻居也都签了名 才两周我们就收集到了一百多个签名，于是我们把签名交到了市政厅 第二天，报纸登了一篇小报道 本地消防员凯拉·沃克竞选第六区议员席位 竞选正式开始了