Recently Appointed New Hope City Council Member: ‘I’m A Quick Study’
You may first notice Brock Ray’s choice of eyewear: thick plastic white eye glasses.
“I don’t know that I would have been brave enough to buy them if I’d tried them on in a store, but I ordered them, they arrived, and, alright, I’m a white glasses guy now!” said Ray, who was appointed over the summer to fill long-time New Hope City Councilmember Andy Hoffe’s term after Hoffe died. “But they’re fun. I get lots of compliments on them. I love it.”
Brock Ray takes the oath of office for the New Hope City Council.
Perhaps the spectacles can help Ray see his way through the “fire hose of information” that’s come his way in a little over a month on council.
“I’ve spent this month going around and meeting with department heads for all of the departments in the city, getting tours of all of our public works facilities, parks and recreations, you know, and wonderful amenities,” said Ray. “One of the things I’m going to be doing in the next month is making sure to visit all of our commissions and spend some time with them.”
Ray and his wife moved back to New Hope eight years ago, after having previously lived in the city for five years in the late 2000s.
“New Hope is exactly what you think about when you imagine a neighborhood. You think about driving the tree-lined streets, these wonderful houses that are beautiful yet affordable,” he said. “It’s a place where there’s families, there’s people from all different generations, there’s diversity here in the city. I just love being in a place that feels so much like a wonderful neighborhood.”
Ray said his career as a designer in user experience has helped him learn to grasp new concepts quickly.
“I’m a quick study on things,” he said. “I have to jump into organizations maybe where I don’t know a lot about the industry or certainly they’re particular organization, and learn what is it they do? What are they trying to accomplish? What counts as success? So, it’s something I’ve learned how to do over the years. I think I’m getting it pretty well here? Like I said, lots of information, but I’m enjoying it.”
