Implementing a thoughtful, well-designed traffic plan that allows neighbors to feel safe when walking through the neighborhood and that allows our kids to walk safely to and from school is a top priority. This includes improvements such as sidewalks, crosswalks and police enforcement, which includes actually writing speeding tickets. In addition, our schools in the area need special attention such as old portable buildings that were only intended to be a temporary fix. We have to lay out a long term plan in order to maintain our infrastructure.

There needs to be a comprehensive effort to look at all schools and determine what improvements must be dealt with immediately and what improvements will need to be made in order to accommodate population growth. This is why I have already reached out to the principals in District 14 in order to begin the work. We must budget appropriately for these improvements and seek all available funding (including at the state and federal level). In addition, we have to hold contractors and manufacturers accountable for their work on city projects. We have examples in our schools where mechanicals that are supposed to last 20-30 years are needing to be replaced after only 10.

There are a lot of times when social media accounts and websites can be beneficial for getting basic information to constituents. However, a lot of people do not use them and some are not even aware that a social media account or a website exists. Drawing on my military training and experience, I will work with the next administration to clarify policies for the timely communication of critical information, including identifying the individuals responsible for such communication. This way, everyone knows when to expect answers to their questions. For instance, any storm that reaches a “Category” level, the city must provide an update within 24 hours of the storm passing. Within 72 hours, there must be an update on whether storm cleanup will take place, etc. By having a widely circulated city standard operating procedure, citizens would know when to expect updates. For city representatives specifically, I believe that representatives need to do a better job of just meeting face to face with constituents and letting them who we are and how to get in touch with us. A lot of people don’t know who to contact or even how our city is structured. It’s our job to tell them and ask how we can help.