VOTE411 Voter Guide

I was appointed to my seat on the Penfield Town Board in January, 2026 and have been learning and acclimating to my role all year long. Prior to this, I served on the Penfield Board of Education from 2012 through June, 2024. During that time I spent two years as Vice President and three years as Board President. Board of Education service includes attending numerous meetings, but also participating in committees. These include Monroe County School Board Association as well as District committees. One such committee I was able to serve on was the Facilities Committee during the time of the planning and approval of the Penfield Bus Garage located at Jackson and Plank Roads, which took many years from start to finish. The new bus garage has alleviated a serious lack of space in the Five Mile Line location. Among many others, I also served for years on the district's Policy Committee.

Our priorities are traffic safety, responsible development, along with transparency and collaboration. We have been improving traffic safety by creating better options for bicyclists, pedestrians and drivers. We are researching ways to expand housing opportunities while preserving the character of our town. We are also planning for the future of our town's buildings, i.e. our library, rec facilities, our infrastructure and our Town Hall and we're working on long term planning for these priorities. In all that we do and are working to accomplish, our responsibility to the taxpayers is top of mind. We are always working to protect taxpayers from wasteful spending while making smart, responsible choices. And through it all, we are launching community conversations to create more opportunities for our residents to engage with their local government.

We are looking into what zoning ordinances may be in need of changing, and what specifically comes to mind has to do with ADUs, Accessory Dwelling Units. This, and perhaps others, need to be looked at to help address unique family living situations and other needs associated with downsizing or specific needs of adult children.

While the housing shortage is a critical issue throughout our state, if I had to choose one major improvement I would like to see, it would be to the town's buildings to allow for more efficiency, being able to accommodate more residents and to create ease of use in utilizing our library, the Rec Center and Town Hall. We are working on ways in which we can help with housing. At the same time, our library is over 40 years old and our Town Hall is over 60 years old. All of this requires strategic planning, spending and community input, which we are engaged in. Having these buildings function optimally and accommodate more people would be such a boost to the residents of Penfield in their day to day lives.