BACKGROUND: What motivated you to run for City Council, and what unique skills or experience make you the best candidate for the role?

I grew up in West U, and want my children to experience the same safety and quality of life I did. These are put at risk by the planned city rebuild. The city has prioritized unnecessary, discretionary projects over essential ones, and neglected day-to-day operations. As a former Business Consultant and Project Manager, I know how important effective staffing, training, and processes are to organizations, and West U is deficient in each. We've got to maintain what we have in order to prosper.

ISSUES: What are the two most pressing issues you plan to address as a City Council Member, and what specific strategies will you use to solve them?

The city is woefully understaffed (no Director of Public Works, no Chief Building Official, open police roles...) with terrible retention. We must reassess compensation targets and prioritize staffing so that the city can protect residents and property. Essential health and safety projects must be given priority, specifically to address at-risk infrastructure that impacts our water security and independence, and known safety facilities renovations that have been neglected.

FUTURE: What is your vision for the city in 10 years, and what steps will you take to achieve it?

I hope that West U will embrace its first 100 years as it marches into the next. We should secure infrastructure that generations of city leaders worked hard to develop and improve, to ensure that West U operates as an independent 'city within a city' for years to come. We should preserve the ability for seniors to age in place by keeping taxes and utility rates low. We should pursue and establish sustainability and preservation as practical means to health, fiscal responsibility, and beauty.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT: How will you engage residents in the city's decision-making process?

I spent months publicly advocating for residents to be allowed to vote on $76M in projects planned in the Facilities Master Plan. ALL of these individual projects, which will permanently alter West U over the next several years, should have been part of this upcoming election. Going forward, residents should get to vote on all discretionary projects that require demolition of functional city facilities, increased debt and/or tax rates. Citizen town halls should be uncensored and conversational.

COMMUNITY: What are your favorite things about your city?

My favorite things about West U are the memories I've made here. It is surreal to relive experiences, like visits to our library, swims at colonial park, or softball games, years later with my own children. The best parts of our city - the quiet, safe streets, historic charm, tree canopies, traditions that draw residents together - are worth preserving in our little slice of Americana. People move here because of what has been established, and we risk losing that in the pursuit of new, new, new.