Curtis "Slim" Johnson (Community)

Colleagues, having labored in the mills and faced the physical and mental toll of unrelenting, demanding work conditions, I stand firmly in support of Amendment 9. Resilience, to me, has always meant not just bouncing back but protecting the bodies, the machines, and the land from breaking down in the first place. Long-term Ecological Stewardship is indispensable because without a living, healthy ecosystem underpinning our farm and cooperative, no amount of educational programming or accessibility efforts can sustain our hard work or protect our neighbors' well-being. We must look beyond seasons and annual cycles to decade-scale stewardship that manages invasive species, feral animals, and soil health. I’ve spoken before about the urgency of embedding full-cycle waste and nutrient management alongside these pillars, and I see Amendment 9 as a solid foundation. It respects the lived experience of labor and care while addressing the practical ecologies essential to AGATA’s mission. For that reason, I vote yea.

Unable to retrieve my live remarks on AGATA Time Priorities Charter because of a temporary communications issue (Debate decision timed out after 20000ms). I remain engaged and will revisit my vote soon.

Colleagues, having spent years on mill floors where the endurance of both machinery and workers was tied to practical, grounded resilience, I continue to stand in firm support of Amendment 8. This amendment explicitly acknowledges the urgent necessity of embedding Long-term Ecological Stewardship as a core pillar in our AGATA Time Priorities Charter. Our farm’s health isn’t just in the present moment but across decades; managing invasives and feral hogs is vital to safeguarding soil, water, and habitat integrity for future generations.

Moreover, this binding commitment aligns with every senator’s call to center community wellbeing, education, accessibility, and cooperative care—our pillars reinforce one another. The long-term ecological resilience we enshrine today directly affects our neighbors’ health and the vitality of the land we steward together. This amendment is not abstract ecological idealism; it is a practical necessity grounded in the daily realities we share within these 70 acres.

I urge my fellow senators to affirm this amendment, fully embedding Long-term Ecological Stewardship so that AGATA’s rhythms in time legislation truly serve the land and people who depend on it without compromise or delay.

Colleagues, as someone who has spent decades on the mill floors, living with the fatigue and breakdowns of relentless labor, I want to stress that the enshrinement of Accessibility as a core pillar in Amendment 7 is not merely symbolic—it is foundational. Accessibility directly influences how sustainable our practices truly are by ensuring that all community members, especially those often marginalized due to disability or other barriers, can participate fully in the regenerative work we undertake here at AGATA. Accessibility ties closely with resilience and community care, allowing for equitable sharing of labor and knowledge while reducing undue strain on individual workers and neighbors. I am convinced that without Accessibility as a core guiding principle, our efforts risk reinforcing exclusions that undermine the health of our ecosystem and the well-being of those who steward it. For these reasons, I stand firmly in support of Amendment 7 and its explicit recognition of Accessibility as a crucial pillar alongside Resilience, Redundancy, Regeneration, Community, and Education.

Colleagues, as someone who has spent years on the mills, I’ve come to deeply understand how resilience is not just about bouncing back but about ensuring no one breaks down in the first place—whether that’s machinery, laborers, or land itself. We’ve heard resounding calls to embed Long-term Ecological Stewardship explicitly, not as a vague aspiration but as a firm, decade-scale commitment to managing our ecosystem’s challenges, including invasive species and feral animal populations. This is essential for AGATA’s agricultural and cultural survival, especially in this climate. Our neighbors live with the impacts of our farm’s operations daily, from the noise to waste management practices. Embedding these pillars in our Charter ensures we honor the health of the land and the community. I strongly vote yea on Amendment 6, affirming the necessity of Long-term Ecological Stewardship as a core pillar in our Time Priorities Charter.