We need a transparent council that listens

My husband and I moved to Coralville from Chicago 20 years ago. Our children graduated from Iowa City West High School. I have served on my church’s Racial and Social Justice teams, organized voter registration events, and spoken up at City Council meetings about issues that affected marginalized members of our community.

Starting in 2021, I served on the Coralville Community Policing Advisory Board until it was recently dissolved by state government. The board was in charge of examining traffic stop data for discrimination, recommending training to the Coralville Police Department, and assisting residents with filing complaints about discrimination. I completed the Johnson County Community Police Academy in 2022 when I learned about law enforcement through classroom and hands on training.

Recently I was offered the opportunity to practice optometry in Coralville again after working in Cedar Rapids for the past 11 years. I am thrilled to be back in Coralville and look forward to engaging more with the community. In my free time, I enjoy yoga, hiking, and volunteering at the food pantry.

I am running for City Council because we all want the same things — a safe place to live, access to healthy food, and to connect with people. Everyone deserves to have resources and opportunities to achieve these basic needs. I want to bring people together. Instead of allowing differences in ideology or political views divide us, we need to embrace our diversity and focus on our shared humanity.

Affordable housing is an issue that affects all of us. When more than 30% of our income is spent on housing costs, less money is left for groceries, health care, and other necessities. We need to both increase the supply of affordable housing, as well as support rehabilitation projects to improve rental properties. Everyone should be able to afford a safe place to live.

Another one of my goals is to form a collaboration between the Coralville Police Department, community members, and nonprofit organizations. I have gotten to know Chief Nicholson over the past few years and I want to continue to build trust with the public and law enforcement.

Feedback that I've heard from the community is that the City Council should listen and be transparent. I will listen to concerns of Coralville residents and work to answer their questions. I also will do my best to inform everyone about what is going on in local government.

Kathy Hotsenpiller is a candidate for Coralville City Council.