Priorities
Promoting Responsible Growth
Our local businesses have always been the lifeblood of our community, they are the pride of Hastings. As our city grows we need to ensure that economic development continues to bring new opportunities to our community and fosters a stronger local downtown. My goal is to increase coordination between economic leaders, city departments, business owners, and the City Council to strengthen our local economy. Together we can make sure Hastings grows responsibly with a focus on job creation, supporting local businesses, and reducing the burden on residential tax payers by drawing new businesses.
Greater Opportunities for Families and Children
I stayed in Hastings to raise my family because of my childhood experiences in the city. Growing up the city had sports leagues, dances, school sponsored overnight events, and spaces dedicated to our youth. My goal is to work with communities to strengthen the programs that remain and work to develop new ones that support reconnecting our youth to Hastings. By providing more opportunities we can encourage young families like mine to remain in Hastings, while drawing in more young people looking for a safe connected community to raise their family.
Accountable and Transparent Government
Our local government should not feel closed off to all but a few, rather it should be accessible to every citizen of Hastings. As a Council Member I will always be open for contact with the people. I will hold regular public meetings and town halls to share what is happening in the City Council and get feedback on the most pressing issues in the city. My plan is to ensure that people trust our local government, to demand there is a constant stream of open communication between the city council and people of Hastings, and to fight for the interests of every person in this city.
Responsible Spending and Tax Relief
My final goal as a Council Member is to ensure the city budget is being used wisely, with an eye out for wasteful spending that causes greater strain on residential tax rates. Other parts of my platform feed directly into this goal. Open communication and transparent government allow all of you to provide insight on the city budget. We can find what is working and not working in the city budget together, for better spending across departments to save money. Working to bring new business into the city with the goal of long-term investment in our community provides us with more job opportunities and better wages. We should use the growth our city is experiencing to benefit the people of Hastings, as your councilmember I will ensure that a Hastings first approach will be my only approach.