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#unitecloud VISION

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#unitecloud does not support any candidates for political office. We legally can’t because of our 501(c)3 status. Even if it was legal to do so, we still wouldn’t support candidates as an organization. Why? Because we are here for Central MN residents across the political spectrum. We don’t count voices out just because they don’t vote like us or have matching value systems when it comes to hot topics. Everyone who lives here has a say in the message that comes out of Central MN and what it feels like to live in Central MN. 
 

#unitecloud leaders can legally support individual candidates, as you see Natalie, Haji, and our board members doing in their yards, in conversations, and on Facebook. Just because we are leaders of #unitecloud does not mean that we don’t get a personal say or a personal vote in the upcoming election, and it doesn’t mean that you will always agree with our individual views.

No matter our individual political biases, the leadership of #unitecloud share this common vision:

#unitecloud seeks to foster an empathetic community that chooses to stand up for one another regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, abilities, or socio-economic background. We believe that our commitment to this vision will lead to a sense of greater safety and hope and a decrease in fear and suspicion of those who are different from us.

This is a NEW #unitecloud vision statement that was crafted with the help of our friends at Vela Strategy. We arrived at these 2 sentences by asking ourselves: “What does St. Cloud look like in 10 years due to #unitecloud’s work?”

You see, while the election is important (both locally and nation-wide), this election will soon be over and there will still be work left to do. We will work with whomever is voted into office, no matter whether our values line up exactly or not. That’s what we’ve done in the past! #unitecloud leadership has been know to visit a House Representative in St. Paul, call up a County Commissioner on the phone, or have coffee with a local City Councilman. These conversations are tough and uncomfortable, but NECESSARY. We will continue to have these conversations, no matter who is in office.

During the next couple of weeks leading up to the election, we ask everyone to take deep breaths and still choose to love and respect their neighbors – even those that do not agree with you and seem to stand with candidates that are in opposition to things you believe in with all of your heart. Even within #unitecloud leadership, there is disagreement on candidate choice for local offices. You know what? That’s ok. We are honest with each other and hold each other accountable for personal decisions that we make that don’t seem to line up with our mission.

But, at the end of the day, #unitecloud is not Haji, or Natalie, or even just our Advisory board. #unitecloud is all of us working together for the good of all of us – and some of us disagree on what the “good of all of us” really is.

This work is messy. But, this messy work is WORTHY work.