Mike Bodker was elected as Johns Creek's first mayor in November 2006. A partner in nexDimension Technology Solutions, he currently is Chairman of the Metro Atlanta Mayors Association and also serves on the boards of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce and the Johns Creek Foundation. He helped form the North Fulton Municipal Association and served as its first chairman and has also served on numerous other community and civic taskforces, commissions and committees. In 2008 he was named a "Hero of Open Government" by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and in 2006 was recognized by the Johns Creek Community Association as its "Citizen of the Year."
“If you asked the citizens of our newest cities the question President Reagan posed to the country in 1980 – “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” – the answer would be a resounding yes.”
December 19, 2008 Controlling Our Destiny Mike Bodker, Mayor, City of Johns Creek
Listen now [2 min, 21 sec]
“A city upon a hill” – The phrase was coined by John Winthrop in a 1630 sermon and recalled by President Ronald Reagan in his Farewell Address to the Nation. This ideal of the city as a beacon of light and hope sustains to this day.
And I dare say few cities appreciate that sentiment more than Johns Creek, Sandy Springs, Milton, Chattahoochee Hills and, most recently, Dunwoody.
In these cities, all created over the past four years, I believe the citizens have a deeper appreciation for the benefits that come from being part of a city. Why? Because achieving that status was not without a great struggle – in the case of Sandy Springs, it was a struggle that spanned over 30 years. And when you have to work for something, you tend to have a much deeper appreciation for it once it is achieved.
In a small way, the hard work these communities have endured in our quest for cityhood is similar to that of our forefathers in founding this great country. Like them, we desired the opportunity to define and control our own destiny, driven by an unshakable belief in our power to create a better future for ourselves and our children. And like them, we yearned to be free of a distant government that was unresponsive to our needs.
And if you asked the citizens of these newest cities the question that Ronald Reagan posed to the country in 1980 – “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” – the answer would be a resounding yes.
In Johns Creek, our citizens built their city on the premise of creating a responsive, transparent and fiscally responsible government and I believe that is what we have established.
From the start, we set out to address an infrastructure that languished for years. There are now more police and fire personnel protecting lives and property since the city established its own departments. And when citizens call City Hall – regardless of the time of day or day of week – they get a live human voice to address their needs and concerns. We've begun to build our own traditions; several thousand people turned out for both out first and second Founders Days each December. We hope that celebration will continue far beyond our tenure here, always recalling the blessings of Democracy that allowed our citizens to “Vote Yes for Johns Creek.”
Perhaps most important, our residents now know they have a voice in how their city is run. We promised citizen involvement would help guide policy and strategies – and they hold us to that promise.
Going forward, we must never lose sight of the ideal in the concept of “a city upon a hill” and continue to be the beacon of light and hope that we worked so hard to achieve.
