Lehman enters the council elections
By Nathan Straus News Reporter

Melissa Lehman

Melissa Lehman has entered the hotly contested battle for the three open positions on the Chandler City Council. She joined the fray as a write-in candidate, competing with three other write-ins and two incumbents.

"I read the paper and saw where there was no one running," Lehman said. "I thought I should serve."

Lehman also said she believes a position on the city council would be something she could fill.

"I figured, `Why not me'," Lehman added.

She is not running out of any sense of dissatisfaction with the current city council, Lehman said. Rather, Lehman is running because she said she feels there is a need.

"I don't have any huge complaints at all. They seem to have the interests of the citizens at heart," Lehman said. "I would hate to see someone having to be appointed, and I want to see more citizens in- volved."

If elected, Melissa Lehman said, she would be educated on Chandler affairs and ask the community what they think about issues affecting the city.

"I'd find a consensus and be a representative for them," Lehman said. "When you're on the city council, you're a servant and not there to represent your own interests."

Lehman also commented on the current state of Chandler's population.

"I think Chandler is growing, " Lehman said. "It's not a small `everyone's family' community anymore."

Lehman lives in the Phoenix West subdivision in Chandler, a subdivision she said she and her family love.

"Everyone is friendly," Lehman said. "It's a close knit community. We don't leave our doors unlocked, but we know we could because everyone looks out for each other."

Lehman said she has many friends both in her subdivision and in Chandler.

Melissa Lehman is the director of quality improvement and risk management at the East Texas Medical Center in Quitman, and has worked for ETMC for 15 years. Her husband of 20 years, James Lehman, works for Chandler as a police officer. They have lived in Chandler for four years.