I spent the better part of a decade serving as a director on the board of the Davis Downtown Business Association, and for eight of those years I had the pleasure of working alongside Josh Chapman. As a small business owner, your plate is full the moment your day begins, so carving out time to sit in morning meetings discussing topics like parking meters and sandwich board placement is sometimes a difficult ask. But the 11 of us who volunteer each year do so because we care deeply about Downtown Davis, and in my mind, none more so than Josh. I was an eyewitness to Josh’s passion for the downtown, his ability to listen to and consider all sides of issues, and his patience and thoughtfulness when confronted with strong, vocal personalities.
The downtown core is a vital part of any city, and Davis Downtown needs to stay vibrant more than ever. The convenience of internet shopping, delivery apps, and streaming content leaves little incentive for people to leave their homes for purely commercial, transactional reasons. Today, people want an experience, something that can’t be replicated on a phone or computer or television. COVID-19 has shown us how desperately we miss these experiences, and it’s these experiences that must be waiting for us when we reach the other side of this pandemic.
Josh would ensure that they will. He has forged strong relationships within the business community, and on the council, Josh could use his insight from his prior work with local businesses along with his practical knowledge as an owner himself to help the city navigate the challenges of COVID economic recovery. He knows, first-hand, how past councils have boosted us and how they’ve failed us. He would enact common-sense policies that will actually help our downtown thrive. And he would do so with the diligence, empathy, and vigor I’ve seen him impart during the years I served with him.
A vote for Josh Chapman is most assuredly a vote for the continued and future success of Downtown Davis.
Kevin Wan
Owner, Sophia’s Thai Kitchen
This letter was originally published in the Davis Enterprise on September 25, 2020
https://www.davisenterprise.com/forum/letters/letter-chapman-will-champion-a-vibrant-downtown/