Issues

Protecting Our Community

Since my appointment, my first priority as a City Council Member has been to keep our neighborhoods safe, and I promise to continue to look for ways to make our city safer. I understand that crime is first on everyone’s mind.

It’s first on my mind too. That’s why I supported using federal stimulus money to hire more police officers putting them in our city’s most needed neighborhoods. I then led the charge to rework the budget to make those positions permanent.

I voted for the city’s convenience store ordinance that will force stores, often targeted by criminals, to install security cameras, automatic door locks, and to remove signs from their windows. I’m also working to reduce panhandling to make our downtown area safe and accessible for residents and tourists.

Further, while on City Council, I have continued the important endeavor of my many years at CASA—putting an end to domestic violence through awareness and education. Not only do we deserve to be safe on our streets, but we deserve to be safe in our homes.

I have worked to make St. Petersburg a safe and livable city and I will continue to look for every opportunity to do so on City Council.

Protecting Our Budget

You can’t spend more than you have and expect to be successful. Businesses aren’t run that way and neither should our city. When I was appointed to Council, St. Petersburg faced an $18 million budget deficit. We would have had to cut jobs and services.

After only a year on Council, the other members trusted me enough to make me the Chairperson of the Budget, Finance, and Taxation Committee and the Investment Oversight Committee. I was also first Council Member that Mayor Rick Baker invited into the budget-making process. I also advocated increased transparency, passing an ordinance to compel the city to release quarterly budget reports.

I fought to balance the budget, while making sure we protected our most vital city employees—police officers and fire fighters. We made sure they were paid first, we protected their jobs, and I commit to making sure we always take care of those who take care of us. We were able to balance the budget without cutting a single emergency service or community program.

I promise to continue to protect these services, while making sure our ledgers remain tidy.

Protecting Fair and Open Government

Open government is good government A government that operates openly and with transparency and accountability governs best. Given some of the challenges we have to address, we can only succeed with the trust, help, and involvement of an informed citizenry.

While on City Council, I have supported televising city election debates so more people could learn about candidates and issues. I have also voted for televising City Council’s committee meetings, where the real work of the Council is done. I have also worked to make information easier to obtain, such as having council agendas published on the website ahead of time so citizens can be better informed of what is being discussed and voted upon. For anyone trying to follow a council meeting or track an issue, you know how helpful just this one step is.

The strength of our democracy depends on citizen’s access to it. I promise never to forget that and, when this campaign is over, I will convert this website to my personal website, where you can know exactly what I’m working on, exactly how I’m voting, and where you can always contact me.

Protecting Our Resources

We must protect our environment and that starts with conservation—conservation not only of our resources, but also of your money. That’s why I have led the charge on increasing the use of reclaimed water in the city. This will help reduce the strain on our drinking water resources as well save money on each of our utilities bills. Further, I have supported investing in our city’s buildings to make them more energy efficient, which will save taxpayers $500,000 a year.

I am committed to making our city more efficient, to conserving our resources, which will help our environment and our pocketbooks.