Candidate Profiles

I would like to form a collaboration between the Coralville Police Department, community members, and nonprofit organizations. My goals would be to build trust with the public and examine systemic issues that can influence interactions with law enforcement.

Affordable housing is an issue that affects all of us. I would like to increase the supply of affordable housing, home renovation grants, and rental property rehabilitation. Everyone should be able to afford a safe place to live.

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 will also do my best to inform everyone about what is going on in local government.

Coralville's water quality is a common concern I hear from residents. Minerals in the water cause the water to be hard, which leaves deposits on water faucets, sinks, and shower heads. Water softeners can help remove these minerals, but the soft water can damage hot water heaters. In the most recent budget, the water rate increased to finance future water system improvements. Although it is likely to be expensive, I think coming up with a solution to fix the water quality would benefit all residents.

Coralville has aggressively invested in economic growth in both Iowa River Landing and the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts. These projects were made possible by tax increment financing (TIF.) While I appreciate the improvements and enjoy shopping and dining in these areas, the high risk, high reward strategy for economic development makes some people nervous. We have a high long term liability burden due to this debt. I would like to learn more about the strategy to repay this debt and attempt to pay more toward the principal balance with this TIF revenue.

Housing is affordable when the household spends 30% or less of their monthly income on their rent or mortgage payment, insurance, and utilities. When more than 30% of income is spent on housing costs, less money is left for groceries, health care, and other necessities. As rent and the cost of homes continue to rise, incomes are staying the same. We need to both increase the supply of affordable housing, as well as support rehabilitation projects to improve rental properties. The Gather Iowa project will include apartments, of which 34 units have been set aside for affordability. While the specifics are still being finalized, I will advocate for this.

The local option sales tax (LOST) will add 1% to services and goods with the exception of groceries, rent, and gas. Coralville has multiple retail establishments as well as restaurants and other small businesses that generate significant revenue. Since we are a destination for many people who come outside of our community to shop, we stand to gain a significant portion of money from visitors. The City Council has made the new recreation center its top priority. 50% of this revenue will be used for this new facility. This portion can also be used for parks, trails, and affordable housing. The other 50% will go to offsetting the property tax increases that would have been necessary to fund the new recreation center. I support LOST because I feel like the new recreation center is truly a community center.

Collaboration with both North Liberty, Iowa City, and Johnson County is important. There may be resources we can use in Johnson County that are not available in Coralville and vice versa. We can collaborate with our neighbors to improve our workforce, solve transportation problems, find affordable childcare, and provide affordable housing so people who work here can afford to live here.

I welcome communication from residents. Residents often have no idea what happens at city council meetings unless an issue comes up that affects them directly. I truly enjoy talking with people and working to help them solve their problems and concerns. I feel like I can really make a difference in city government. As a candidate I have interacted with several residents that have contacted me about issues and have tried my best to help them get answers. I personally prefer in person conversations with people. I enjoy getting their perspective about certain issues and try to understand where they are coming from.

I really 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 interests.

I think the city does an excellent job providing information on its website. The public often feels like they are not informed about projects or decisions that have been made by city council. I would like to improve communication and encourage resident participation in meetings. People think what they say doesn't matter, but that's not true. I love that you can call city hall with a question about a map, and then you end up directly on the phone with the city engineer. I would like to represent all of the people of Coralville as a city council member.

I feel like the city has done an excellent job stimulating economic development over the past few years. We have developed infrastructure to attract workers, collaborated with institutions to ensure our workforce has the appropriate skills, managed growth and land use, and provided areas that improved the quality of life. Coralville looks very different now than it did when I moved here 20 years ago. There are many new businesses in Iowa River Landing and on 5th Street. All of these businesses create new jobs and invest in our community. Tax incentives could be offered if long term benefits outweigh the costs to the city.