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Submitted by Margaret “Peggy” Duncan
I am writing in support of John Duncan for City Council. Objectively, John is extraordinarily well qualified to serve our City in this role. His education and experience are exactly what this City needs to navigate the challenging and complicated issues that we are facing. He will bring a fresh new voice to City Council, backed by his dedication to our City and exemplary problem solving skills. But the point of this letter is to share more about John as a person, from my perspective as his wife.
John and I met in our first year of law school. We married six years later, and will be celebrating our 25th anniversary soon. We’ve shared our entire adult lives together, from starting our careers, raising our four children and planning for our empty nest. We’ve spent the last 15 years in Coronado, and we love and appreciate our City more and more each year.
All along the way, our entire extended family has relied upon John’s intelligence and strength. From our early years together, I admired the way John appreciated his family, including his amazing grandparents, and valued their advice. John didn’t hesitate to support me when I chose to step back from work as an attorney to raise our kids, and he has been an outstanding role model for our two sons and our two daughters. On a daily basis, he demonstrates for them the value of education, hard work and giving back.
I was so proud to watch John work with hundreds of kids as a youth sports coach, and I am amazed at how he has put his skills to work in public service, serving our City on commissions and on the Board of the Historical Association, and serving on several other non-profit boards. Anyone who has worked with him in those roles knows how lucky they are to have him.
One of the things I’ve admired most as I have observed John navigate his career and volunteer service, is that he has a keen ability to take very complicated issues, read and analyze them quickly, and drill down to the key points. Few attorneys possess this skill and it has served him extremely well. By eliminating the extraneous material and distractions, he solves problems more effectively and can bring people together on the most important issues much more quickly.
While John has always been an excellent attorney, businessman, father and husband, his outlook on life was shaped by major life challenges over the past year. Just one year ago, John was enduring surgeries, brutal radiation and chemotherapy treatment for throat cancer. He was fortunate that the cancer was treatable, and even curable, but the treatment was extremely difficult and scary. Somehow, he maintained an extremely positive attitude throughout the process, impressing his doctors, fellow community members and his own family. He has emerged from this ordeal physically stronger than ever, and with a renewed appreciation for life, relationships and people. He really listens to people, is willing to compromise and is not bothered by the petty annoyances of life.
For all these reasons, I encourage you to vote for John Duncan. Not only because he has some of the strongest credentials of any candidate to ever run for City Council, but also because he is a solid human. He is a dedicated family man who wants to take all his experience and knowledge and use it to help our City. He is a candidate who will make this City proud.
Margaret “Peggy” Duncan
