City and town elections

I try to be the elected official I would want representing us at all levels of government. As a social worker, I am passionate about transparency and accountability in government and making local government as accessible as possible. A lot of my time is spent engaging with my neighbors because it’s important to me that they are informed and feel empowered. I believe it is our job to take care of our city and our neighbors, and so a lot of the work we do really falls under the umbrella of community social work. Are our roadways and sidewalks safe for all users? Are our fire, police, and public works departments being provided with the resources they need to serve our community? Is our city accessible and welcoming to all? Do our neighbors have access to healthy places, like parks and recreation facilities? Are we responsibly investing in infrastructure instead of continually kicking the can down the road? Is our city being managed in a way that results in a high quality of life now and for future generations?

In answer to these questions, we have spent four years pouring time, resources, and energy into our city, our neighbors, and our employees. We have improved major intersections with crosswalk infrastructure, added a long-awaited right-hand turn lane onto Ashland Terrace, and are in the process of conducting a grant-funded traffic study of Dayton Boulevard from Gadd Rd to Signal Mountain Rd. We have added AEDs to all city facilities, installed ADA-accessible door openers at City Hall, our Community Center, and our Police Department/Courtroom, and, with the assistance of grant funds, built the city’s first-ever inclusive and accessible playground at White Oak Park. Also with grant funds, we began mapping our stormwater system last year for the first time in history. Because of the historical lack of investment in this infrastructure since the city began management of our stormwater utility in 2002, we have had “emergency” failures that cost far more taxpayer dollars to repair than if we had been responsibly monitoring and maintaining this system all along. It is also our job to ensure that every single one of our employees is paid fairly and provided with the resources they need to do their jobs safely, efficiently, and effectively. For years, our hardworking Fire, Police, and Public Works employees were forced to go without so much as a cost of living increase. When I was first elected, we had firefighters making $11/hr and our employees had a life insurance policy of only $10,000 that had not been updated since the 1980s. That has not been enough to cover even basic funeral expenses in a long time. Now I’m proud to report our firefighter starting pay is up to $18.75/hr and we’ve been able to increase our employee life insurance benefits to $75,000. Because of our investment in our employees over my past four years in office, Red Bank is now a regionally competitive employer that benefits from attracting top talent and retaining experienced employees. These are the kinds of investments our city has desperately needed for so long. I feel privileged to have been part of all this positive change and hope for the opportunity to continue this momentum for the next four years.

I love Red Bank and serving my community in any way I can. I’m proud of the work we’ve done in Red Bank since I first took office in December 2020, and I hope to continue that good work for the next four years. It would be challenging to pick a “top” priority because there’s so much more I think our Commission can accomplish together in the coming years. My top priorities would be completing our first-ever Comprehensive Master Plan so we know where we want to be in 20 years and how we’re going to get there, determining the highest and best use of the 12-acre former Red Bank Middle School site, fulfilling our land swap agreement outstanding with the National Park Service so that our city can once again be competitive for State and Federal level grants, establishing our first-ever Capital Improvement Plan to address decades of deferred maintenance, expanding park and recreation opportunities for all ages, and improving bikeability, walkability, and neighborhood connectivity.

This was actually one of my top priorities when I ran for office the first time in 2020, and I have worked diligently since I was elected to make local government as accessible as possible to my neighbors. In the past four years, we have started live-streaming and recording all of our commission meetings and expanded our city’s community engagement efforts through an email newsletter, social media accounts, a revamped website, informational mailers, new community events, and an online portal to pay for permits, report possible code violations, and make service requests. In April 2021, I spearheaded a unanimously supported ordinance to establish Citizen Advisory Boards so that our wonderfully talented neighbors could volunteer to give back to their own community by contributing their time and expertise. I also regularly share our city business on my own social media platforms, as well as holding Instagram live “Porch Talks” (chats from my porch) prior to each of our bi-monthly commission meetings with Q&A opportunities for the public. When there have been particularly impactful issues, like hiring a new city manager, the budget, or taxes, I have held live Q&A chats, had phone and email conversations, and met neighbors at the park or over coffee to answer questions. I will continue all of these efforts if re-elected and will work with the city to increase community engagement, to include expanding volunteer opportunities and hosting some kind of Civics 101 program on government for our neighbors.