The priority of our government must be to work for our communities. As a city council member, I will put in the necessary energy to engage with our community to listen to the needs of our residents. I want to foster effective and honest conversations where the goals are to understand the various needs of our diverse community. Our government must be transparent and accessible for all Renton residents.

My career as a social services professional taught me the imperative need to invest in human, social, and community based services so all families can have every opportunity to thrive. I will prioritize updating Renton’s Community Needs Assessment for Human Services and investing more of our municipal budget in our community and services for our residents. My goal is to ensure every family in our city has access to the resources they need. 

Renton is a beautiful Pacific Northwest oasis which I will prioritize to maintain for our future. Cities like Renton are in powerful positions to improve the quality of life for its residents by intentionally reducing emissions and building climate resilience. We need to review, assess, and update Renton’s Clean Economy Strategy, developed in 2011. We need to continue to foster clean water and clean water ways as we have done, as well as prioritize low-carbon mobility as we continue to grow as a city.

The City of Renton is rapidly growing and our leaders need to take a proactive approach to address our region’s increasing cost of living to ensure that residents, both old and new, can afford to live here. My priorities include creating actionable solutions for families and residents who are cost burdened by living expenses, such as seniors and retirees. These solutions include increasing mixed-income housing development, finding ways to keep people in their homes, and enact a forward thinking land-use policy that ensures we don’t make the same mistakes as Seattle. As the elected leaders of Renton, City Council members must act with the best interests of current residents in mind while also ensuring we have smart policies in place to attract new residents while managing our growth in a responsible manner.

I want small businesses in Renton to be in stronger positions for success in a post-Covid-19 world. In addition to encouraging residents to shop local, we can help businesses develop by investing in low-cost workforce training programs focused on future economic growth. I am also in favor of small business loans to Renton businesses that had to close their doors as a direct result of the pandemic. I will work collaboratively with the Seattle-King County Workforce Development Council to develop a strategic plan that supports Renton’s economic growth and labor force needs intended to grow the capacity and performance of the workforce system.

Renton is an incredibly diverse city and as such, all city leadership, commissions, and committees responsible for making the impactful decisions for our city need to be proactive in seeking input from all of our diverse residents. I want to work with the Renton-King County Alliance for Justice and Renton Residents for Change to support and uplift their #Stand4Justice pillars. We need to provide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) education and training for everyone, especially those who work in our busy city centers, so we can all work together in a collaborative manner to address any hateful behavior effectively in real-time. Together, we can ensure Renton is a welcoming city to all.