My issues
Smart growth
Moorhead is growing. We see it all around us. Growth is great, but it also comes with costs. In the seven years I have served on Moorhead Planning Commission, I've learned a lot about how we can build a bright future together without leaving anyone behind. One way we can do that is to grow our property tax base by enacting policies that encourage the building of more affordable housing units. We can also do more to support our small local businesses when they are negatively impacted by construction projects like the new underpass. In addition, when we need to use special assessments to fund a major infrastructure project that benefits the whole city, those costs should be paid by everyone, not just the nearby neighbors.
Communication and participation
As we grow and as the media landscape gets more fractured, it’s difficult for the city to communicate out what is happening, and it’s also hard for people to know how they can be more involved in city government, whether it’s serving on boards and commissions or attending city government meetings. As a communications professional, I have ideas on how the city can more effectively communicate what's happening. Here's an easy one: we can meet people where they are by streaming city council and commission meetings on all the city's social platforms.
Public safety
We don't have enough peace officers and firefighters to serve the population we have. First, we need to raise salaries for police officers and firefighters so that we can recruit and retain first responders. We also need to continue to work on creative solutions to our public safety deficits. I will advocate for solutions to recruiting and retaining officers including expanding our police cadet program and bringing a law enforcement skills training center to Moorhead. I also believe we can reduce the burden on our law enforcement officers by adding other positions to our public safety forces, like outreach workers.