Candidate Profiles

1. Continue to support economic development in the community because without economic development and growth it will be very difficult to support and expand the wide variety of important services the city provides such as busing, recreational activities, state of the art library and a well staffed and equipped police and fire department.

2. Complete our plans for replacement of our aging and undersized recreational center. We have a great opportunity to partner with the Iowa City School District to modernize this facility.

3. Sustainability is a major priority and will support initiatives in this area including a permanent recycling center, and expanding and maintaining our trail system to better facilitate commuter biking and walking.

The city continues to face fiscal challenges both based on our debt and on state level policies which penalize growth and make maintaining a balanced budget very challenging. The city council plays a key role in working with staff to address budgetary challenges and setting priorities for the city.

I would work closely with the city administrator and staff to address any budget challenges. Essential services such as water, street maintenance, solid waste, police and fire removal would be maintained but perhaps not expanded like we have done in the past. Delaying costly new areas of growth (new road/facilities) would be one option to address budget challenges.

Affordable Housing is a critical issue for our region and Coralville. I supported a number of city initiatives to provide affordable housing including Coral North Apartments on Holiday Court near a bus line, pharmacy and grocery store. Importantly, I have insisted on an affordable housing component in the Gather Iowa Project. I also supported including affordable housing as a key component of the Local Option Sales Tax.

I strongly support the local options sales tax and strongly advocated to put this on the ballot for our citizens to decide. Johnson County communities are generally behind most of the state in regards to implementing this tax and I think this is due to the regressive nature of this tax. While I understand and appreciate this concern, I think Johnson County in general and Coralville particularly will benefit from the many visitors and tourists who make purchases in our community. In addition, proceeds from this tax will not only offset property taxes but will be used to support affordable housing which helps offset the regressive nature of this tax.

While on council I have worked with and supported a wide variety of issues ranging from updating our recreational center (Iowa City Schools), supporting a critical arterial connection (Forever Green Road with North Liberty), and supporting a wide variety of non-government entities such as the Coralville Food Pantry and Houses into Homes that provide critical support to our residents. I will continue to support collaborative efforts with any and all agencies that will benefit the residents of Coralville.

While on the council I have consistently replied to emails from residents to address their concerns. I have also attended many forums with residents related to specific topics such as the Recreational center planning and the Forever Green Road extension so I can hear comments/concerns from residents. Recently I met in person with a number of residents who had concerns about the Flock Camera system which persuaded me to support a more restrictive policy related to use of these cameras and help assure resident privacy.

During my time on council, I have reached out to and met one-on-one with other council members to learn from their experiences, understand their priorities, and explain my priorities. I plan to continue to do this if re elected.

The city has done an excellent job supporting economic development and that includes two active projects, the Iowa River Power property preservation and modernization as well as the Gather Iowa project (Near Hwy 6 and 1st Ave). The city has aging infrastructure which provides opportunities to modernize and reduce our impact on greenhouse gas emissions. I will continue to press staff on looking for opportunities in these areas.

While serving on the council, I have supported a wide variety of initiatives for economic development. Criteria I have used to support these projects relate to several key factors. Does the project address a critical infrastructure need that the city would otherwise need to invest in. Does the project create good-paying jobs in the community, and is city support contingent on confirmation that local jobs are created? Does the project address a critical need such as affordable housing in the community.