Candidate Profiles

My top three priorities all serve to advance the City of Iowa City’s strategic plan. First, I want to protect people and the environment from the harms of AI by regulating its use in the private and public sector, along with restricting large-scale data centers from being built. My second priority is to expand our view of public safety beyond policing to encompass public health initiatives that also serve to make our communities safer for everyone. Finally, continuing to educate community members about the resources available to them and empowering them to shape the city they want to live in is part of my vocational duty as a librarian.

The top issue facing Iowa City today is our narrow sense of what is considered “public safety.” Currently, public safety is essentially synonymous with policing, increasing tensions between community members who have opposing views on how police departments should be funded, supervised, etc.

However, data shows that a healthy and cared for community is also a safer community. If we expand our definition of public safety beyond policing alone to include public health initiatives, having conversations about funding public safety become more productive, more creative, and more community-focused. This means funding things like public housing and bike lanes would be considered matters of public safety as well, strengthening their importance and precedence.

If the city is faced with budget cuts, the first thing I would do is ask the city manager Geoff Fruin to help me understand possible pathways forward and to hear his recommendations. Additionally, I would speak to community members to hear what they are concerned about being cut and what they need to see preserved in the budget. My initial impulse is to cut parts of the police budget, particularly for any expenditures that are advancing the militarization of police forces. ICPD does engage in diversion and community outreach programs and I would work to make sure those funding sources are not cut. Finally, I would engage in research and evidence-based practices to find examples and case studies of similar communities to see what routes they chose to take and how those decisions impacted them.

If I am elected, voting on the budget will be one of the first decisions I am in the room for. Therefore, I would plan to meet with the city manager multiple times in preparation to ensure I am able to hit the ground running and get my first term as city councilor off to a great start.

I believe that housing is a human right and as such it is the responsibility of government entities to prioritize making sure people have dignified living conditions. On city council, I plan to prioritize building a range of permanent supportive housing options to provide adequate opportunities to end homelessness in Iowa City. Additionally, public housing and housing priced to support the “missing middle” are approaches to affordable housing I am in favor of.

I do support the local option sales tax (LOST). The LOST ballot measure has been considered carefully to balance collecting increased revenue from tourists, visitors, and regular shoppers in Iowa City while making sure that low-income community members like myself are still able to buy essentials, as items such as groceries, gas, and prescriptions are exempt.

Additionally, LOST funds will be directed toward property tax relief, affordable housing, public infrastructure, and community partnerships. That makes it important to vote for city councilors who are best equipped to select programming and recipients for these funds.

Regional collaboration with government and non-government entities is incredibly important, particularly in states like Iowa where the state government has placed increasing restrictions for municipalities to act in community members’ best interests. I think the LOST ballot measure being on the ballot in multiple nearby communities at once is a great example of how bringing entities together can raise public awareness and support for projects and decisions that will benefit us all. Whenever a collaboration is considered, it must be scrutinized to ensure that embarking on that journey is truly serving the public good in a sustainable, equitable, and accessible way.

Librarians are trained to have perseverance when posed with difficult questions and patron requests. A librarian’s job is customer service, after all! This attitude and training positions me well to communicate effectively and responsively with residents. I want every single person in Iowa City to know who I am and to know that if they come to me with any issue I will do everything in my power to get them the answer and make sure they understand how I found/accessed that information so they can do the same in the future if they’d like.

Part of my pedagogical approach to teaching and library work is to find a shared connection. Once you find a shared connection it becomes easier to use that as a point of reference to problem solve together and mutual understanding of each other’s viewpoints becomes much more simple. I expect to have many long conversations with other council members who have different approaches to their work than I do and I am not afraid to have uncomfortable and awkward conversations.

Iowa City should not consider collaborating with Johnson County on a joint law enforcement center. I was a very vocal opponent of this proposal and I am glad the joint facility plan has ended. On a fundamental level, I believe that a joint law enforcement center erodes checks and balances. Consolidating powers that have the authorization to carry out lethal force will never be something I am in favor of, whether it is combining operations or simply sharing a building. This promotes the militarization of police forces and makes it more difficult for communities to exercise proper oversight.

In addition, I think the publicly proposed plan for the jail is far too massive and does not prioritize caring for the folks who are caged and incarcerated within it.

Iowa City implementing fare free services is incredible, but we cannot expect community members to take full advantage of these services without bus shelters! Changes to our transportation systems will not truly be equitable unless we consider the obstacles that still act as barriers. Iowa City also needs to prioritize protected bike lanes, which would make the roads safer for bikers and would make the sidewalks safer for walking pedestrians. I believe that trails should also have additional lighting adding to them for the evenings where possible and when ecologically appropriate.

The city should play a role in business and economic development as long as it aids in advancing the public good and increasing equity, access, and sustainability. Ensuring that there is criteria in place to determine what incentives are offered should be based on environmental impact, impacts on equity and access, and the long-term good of the city. The city can also aid in business and economic development by doing everything possible to prevent predatory leases and by vocally encouraging unionization efforts in businesses. Unionized workers, in conjunction with supportive city councilors, can apply pressure from both sides to ensure that development and growth is done so in a way that is responsible and fair.