More than Broken Glass

During the September 22, 2025 Meet and Greet with City Councilors, I read the below story about my journey and the negativity witness by years of bullying through social media. Franklin and it's future deserves better from all of us.

Below is the entire letter, as well as, the video from the City's archive.

Good evening, neighbors and friends,

I want to start with a story. A few years back, I was sitting at home when my phone buzzed with a notification: my water bill was available on social media. It was a quick intense moment of frustration, but unfortunately, one that I started to get accustomed to. The very next day, when I got home from work, I found a brick through the window of my home.

That moment stuck with me. Because it showed how quickly frustrations, misinformation, and anger can boil over— and how they can damage more than just glass. They can destroy trust, community, respect, discourse and the sense that we’re in this together.

Since the beginning, some people have disparaged, slandered, and tried to discredit Mill City Park. Some of our local politicians even serve as administrators of social media groups where hateful and untruthful messages are spread—not just about me, but about their neighbors, our volunteers and our organization. And here’s the truth: too often, we have chosen not to respond. We have stayed silent, hoping that the work itself would speak louder than words. But silence doesn’t build bridges. And I believe we can do better.

Mill City Park was never about division. It was about turning a forgotten river and unwanted land into something that could belong to all of us: a free public space where families gather, kids fish or learn to paddle, and visitors see Franklin as more than just a dilapidated dot on the map. The park is proof of what happens when a community decides to dream.

The real Franklin—the Franklin I know—is not defined by online comments or political grudges. It’s defined by people who show up with shovels on volunteer days. By neighbors who bring coffee to workers on cold mornings. By local businesses who donate what they can because they believe in the idea of a stronger, more vibrant downtown, and future.

Yes, there has been division. But there is also resilience, creativity, and a shared love for this place. We owe it to one another to focus on what we’re building, not what we’re breaking.

So tonight, I’m asking us to make a choice. A choice to rise above the negativity. A choice to meet our neighbors with kindness, even when we disagree. A choice to focus on Franklin’s future, not its factions.

Because in the end, the question isn’t about Mill City Park. It’s about who we want to be as a community. Do we want to be the place known for tearing one another down? Or the place known for lifting each other up and creating something extraordinary on the banks of our river? I believe in Franklin.

I believe in our people. And I believe that if we commit to listening, to caring, and to showing up for one another, then our best days aren’t behind us—they’re ahead.

The following handout is about building bridges together. We hope you choose to show up for your neighbors.

Sincerely,

Marty