I was elected on Nov. 7, 2017. I’ll update this page as my term progresses over the next four years.
Hi! I’m a writer, editor, historian, and long-term Farmington resident. I’ve lived in the downtown area since 1999.
I’m running in the November 7, 2017 city council election to give our city a 21st-century boost while enhancing the historic downtown we know and love.
I grew up with a sense and a love of history. And I think that’s one big reason why so many people love this city as I do. The old-fashioned, small-town feel. The close-knit feeling of knowing your neighbors. Walking downtown to the library, the Civic, the farmers market. It’s a big part of what makes Farmington… Farmington.
Farmington has a reputation as a family community – a historic community – a city with a heart. And as the downtown continues to grow and develop, I believe it’s important that we embrace that reputation, because it’s what sets us apart from other similar cities in the Metro Detroit area.
We need to preserve and build around our historic roots. At the same time, there’s plenty we can do to bring Farmington up to speed in the 21st century.
With more millennials and young families in Farmington, it’s important to have new voices in local government who’ll represent our views and concerns. Times are changing, and we owe it to our community to keep up with our wants and needs, be it new condos and townhouses or food truck rallies or community forums for the digital age.
We owe it to ourselves, too, to make sure that when we talk of progress and investment in Farmington, everyone’s included. I’ve spent the summer in the neighborhoods, knocking on doors and listening to people’s ideas and issues. And while there’s widespread love for our historic downtown all across Farmington, many folks in the outlying neighborhoods feel like they’ve been forgotten in the rush to bring in mega-developments downtown.
That doesn’t sit well with me. And it’s because I’m thinking with a different mindset than many of our current city leaders. Instead of pouring money into building new supersized housing complexes downtown, I’d rather invest in improving our neighborhoods.
It’s a bottom-up, not top-down, approach. It means going out and talking to people about what the city could do better for them. It means asking for feedback about the kinds of development that people do want to see. Maybe forming a new committee that would lead to (for example) better walkability.
These are things everyone in the city can benefit from. And I’m in this race to speak out for things that matter most to our community. Join me!