The members of a City Council supervise the city departments, either directly or through a city manager or administrator. City Councilors pass laws, set policy, decide which services will be provided, and develop budgets; they negotiate work contracts and make hiring and firing decisions. A city officer must be a qualified elector under the state constitution who has resided in the city before being elected for a period of time that is specified in the city charter. In most cities, the City Councilors are unpaid.Bend City Councilors are elected by numbered position. They serve for a 4-year term (unless they are filling out a partial term) and are elected on a nonpartisan basis.
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Contact Phone
541-550-3170
Campaign Phone (public)
541-550-3170
Town Where You Live
Bend, OR
Your Experience/Qualifications
Occupation: Bend City Councilor, Position 1; Forward Planning Manager - Professional Background: Affordable Housing, Sustainability, Clean Energy, Childcare Advocacy - Education: Bachelor of Science, University of California, Davis (2000) - Prior Public Service: Bend City Councilor, Position 1 (2023-current); Liaison to City’s Environment and Climate Committee; Peace Corps service in Senegal, West Africa (2000-2003)
County
Deschutes County
Term
4 years
Term Expires
2028
Bend’s most urgent needs are:
• the shortage of affordable housing, including homelessness
• ensuring that we have livable, walkable, and sustainable neighborhoods
• protecting our environment, particularly in the face of climate change.
As a City Councilor, I have supported the construction of hundreds of new affordable homes; worked to reduce homelessness by providing needed services and shelter beds; made progress on creating a citywide bike and pedestrian network; increased safety and connectivity with projects like the Hawthorne overcrossing and the Newport and Wilson Avenue improvements; and supported policies to foster sustainable development and protect the environment. We must continue to make progress on each of these issues.
I have had a lifelong passion for public service from my Peace Corps service in Senegal, West Africa to my advocacy for affordable housing, childcare, and environmental protection to my service on the Council. What I find most interesting in my Council duties is working with my colleagues, the community, and city staff to forge practical solutions to Bend's most pressing problems and opportunities -- building more affordable housing, reducing homelessness, growing in a sustainable and equitable way, and preserving our environment - and doing so in a transparent and cost effective manner. In short, what has always drawn me to public service is making a positive and tangible difference for people and for our community, state, and nation.
A strong economy is built on the foundation of prudent public infrastructure investment. We must make investments to ensure our future prosperity and quality of life such as a robust bike and pedestrian network, improved community connections such as the Hawthorne overcrossing, road safety improvements like the Newport and Wilson Avenue projects, increasing the supply of clean energy, and supporting the development of an electric vehicle charging network. We must consider multiple funding sources - federal funding, particularly from the federal bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act; state funding; and local revenues, including low cost tax exempt bond financing, keeping in mind the overall burden on taxpayers.
