Campaign Phone
3314448497
Education
B.S.Ch.E, with Honor from Michigan Technological University and J.D. from University of Michigan Law School
Military Experience
none
I am uniquely qualified for the Marquette City Commission because I was born and raised in Marquette, finished my education in Michigan, lived in different places and traveled all over the world and returned to Marquette in early 2017 to deal with family obligations. Since returning to Marquette, I have become active in local politics, routinely attending meetings of the City and County Commission, serving as an appointed member of the Marquette Area Wastewater Treatment Advisory Board and serving a term as an elected member of the Marquette Board of Light and Power. I am familiar with local issues and have met and worked (sometimes officially and sometimes unofficially) with local elected officials. My areas of focus include: cigarette butt recycling, co-sponsoring a milk giveaway program with Jilbert's Dairy during late 2025, and creating and running a library/homework program for local children during the first days of the pandemic. I am willing to serve the people.
1. Reviewing budget priorities to focus more money on maintaining and improving existing city services, infrastructure and park facilities for the residents. There needs to be short term reallocation of funds from "nice to have" projects, like expensive Public Art projects that are designed to attract "the right type of tourists", to budget friendly public art that benefits local artists and the residents of the city of Marquette. Infrastructure includes sidewalks and streets and installing nets on storm sewers to stop toxic trash from entering Lake Superior.
2. Request an audit of all vendor contracts with the City to verify work has been done and kept within allocated budget. This includes the multi-million dollar contract with Johnson Controls that was sold to the City Commission as a deal that would bring such large savings to the City that the deal would pay for itself. It's time to find out if that contract did, in fact, "pay for itself".
Campaign Phone
9062511873
Education
B.S. Outdoor Recreation Leadership & Management
For the past four years I have served on the Marquette City Planning Commission, for the last year as the chair. I served as a liaison to the Board of Zoning Appeals and helped guide the development of our new Community Master Plan, which was adopted in 2024. The PC has continually refined the city’s Land Development Code to assess the permitted heights, setbacks, and allowances to make property development easier and more enticing for builders and developers, with a focus on allowing more affordable developments. The refinements in our code have resulted in fewer variance requests and Board of Zoning Appeals cases that have come before that board in recent years than in those that preceded them.
The highest priority for me is dealing with the affordability crisis. I say affordability, and not just “housing affordability”, because it’s a multi-faceted problem, and I plan to make it top of mind in every decision. On the planning commission we have eased building requirements to make it easier to build affordable housing options. I’ll continue to work toward decreasing building costs, collaborate on transportation options, improve winter walkability, and add active transportation routes.
Budgeting, including increasing revenue, is my second priority. This problem is also multi-faceted and all options will be investigated. First, we should levy a tourism tax that can be used to help fund city infrastructure, protect our lakeshore, fix our roads, and upgrade sewer systems. Tourists should pay for the increased wear and tear on our city resources.
Campaign Phone
9063600759
Education
Northern Michigan University, BS Business Management
For more than 30 years, I have proudly called Marquette home. During that time, I have dedicated my career and volunteer efforts to strengthening our community through housing, business development, environmental stewardship, youth programs, and public service.
I believe the strongest communities are built by people who invest not only their money, but also their time, experience, and commitment to future generations.
I have worked to make a lasting, positive impact on the Marquette community by:
*Helping build and develop well over 600 housing units for local families, students, seniors, and working professionals.
*Owning and managing more than 400 homes and apartment rentals, providing quality housing and maintaining long-term investments in our neighborhoods.
*Creating and growing multiple successful local businesses that have generated jobs, supported local contractors, and contributed to our local economy.
The priorities that I see the city needs to tackle are intertwined with each other.
Everyone talks about housing. Everyone talks about homeless. Everyone talks about physical and financial security of the city.
Every step we take toward securing these priorities will help the other ones. More housing helps homelessness. Housing helps our budgets with more revenue. More housing means more places for people to live and work. We also need to work on sustainable tourism. We currently have a boom bust tourist season and I don’t want to see more businesses go seasonal. Some of our trails in the surrounding area need help with repair and preservation. These are complex problems which need to be broken down into small manageable pieces. I have the direct knowledge and experience. Also, we need to work hand in hand with our regional partners, such as the County and surrounding townships. We are in this together!
Campaign Phone
7189863734
Education
Bachelors of Science, Communications and Performance Studies, NMU
Born and raised in Marquette, I have a deep love and gratitude for the place that raised me. After traveling the country for work and living in major hubs like New York City and Los Angeles, I chose to come back home. I don't just live here; I actively chose Marquette as the place I want to invest my life and energy. My time in NYC and LA taught me how to thrive in high-pressure, fast-paced industries. When I returned, one of the jobs I held before becoming General Manager of Double Trouble Entertainment was as the City of Marquette's Finish Carpenter. During my time with the city, I saw how the sausage was made, as it were, and as a homeowner and taxpayer, I feel it is time for some efficiencies. Along with an efficiently run Public Works Department, Marquette needs to find new and exciting ways to generate income instead of taxing its residents. With my life experience and proven energy, I'm the person to think outside the box, take action, be accountable, and get things done.
The heavy industry of yesteryear is gone. Like it or not, tourism is our new reality. As a city, we need to find new, creative ways to generate income from people who are now discovering what we've all known for so long. Marquette is a special place. I will ensure that the people discovering our city will help pay for its upkeep. By generating income from tourists, we can fund city services without squeezing the wallets of our year-round residents.
Also, as previously mentioned, I believe the city's Public Works Department is run extremely inefficiently. Some of the ways in which we can have a well-run city are:
Prioritizing upkeep by fixing minor wear-and-tear issues early instead of waiting for expensive, reactive repairs.
Tracking key performance indicators such as work order completion rates and response times will allow us to eliminate backlogs and optimize staffing and approach, ultimately saving taxpayer dollars.
Being hyper-transparent and ultra-accountable.
Campaign Phone
847-867-8817
My professional, political, and community experience gives me a perspective that I believe would be valuable on the Commission. I have spent the past 16 years working in Marquette’s hospitality industry—as a sommelier, bartender, server, barista, and small-business professional. I understand both the challenges facing local businesses and the realities of the workers who keep our tourism economy running.
I also have political experience working on campaigns and on Capitol Hill, where I learned how to build relationships, advocate effectively, and work with people who have different perspectives. Most importantly, I have deep connections throughout our community. I know people in our local businesses, nonprofits, and service industries, and I care deeply about Marquette’s future. I would bring a collaborative, practical approach to the Commission, along with a commitment to listening to the people most affected by the decisions we make.
My two priorities are housing affordability and transportation, which I see as interconnected. Many who work in Marquette can’t afford to live here and instead commute from Negaunee, Ishpeming, and surrounding communities, adding costs in gas, insurance, and vehicle maintenance. I would support development policies that expand attainable housing while respecting existing neighborhoods, including workforce housing, apartments, and appropriately scaled higher-density development. I would advocate for stronger regional transportation, including expanded evening and weekend service and exploring options such as microtransit and rideshare partnerships. These issues also intersect with sustainable tourism and homelessness. We need a tourism economy that benefits residents, workers, and local businesses, while supporting organizations serving people experiencing homelessness and maintaining safe public spaces. I believe we can approach these challenges with compassion and accountability.
Nothing.
This is an elected position that is to review and sign off on activities in the city. Every city resident is qualified. If prior experience on a board qualifies someone, I would suggest it also makes them biased. Paying attention to the evolution of our city, and speaking up when time permits, are really the only qualifications needed for this position.
Keeping an inquisitive mind, organizing appropriate questions, and listening to the concerns of residents is really not that hard. Everyone is qualified to do that.
The current seated officials have been working on the persistent problems very well in my opinion. The next few years will be marked by what is done at the old hospital site and how to navigate our town without the need of individual vehicles.
As for the old hospital, I think we are being overly generous to the group that owns that whole site. There should be a motion to divide that property to allow for smaller developers, and home ownership, to proceed without full site development. One key aspect is the "taxes" that group pays goes directly to a fund they can use on other properties. It's not illegal, but I think that should be addressed.
Our town has a lot of hills and small pocket neighborhoods. A transit system that does not connect to the wider county would be helpful for residents to enjoy our culture. Riding a bus out to the island would reduce wear and tear on the road, while allowing sight-seeing tours to visitors and residents. A 3rd street route would be helpful too.
Campaign Phone
9063621922
Education
BS NMU Communication and Political Science
Military Experience
NA
I feel my past experiences have prepared me for serving our community. I run a small business here in town. I've served our community for over 20 years in advisory roles including 6yrs on the Presque Isle Advisory Committee, 2 years BZA, 6yrs on the Planning Commission 3 years appointed City Commission, elected 2 years Marquette Board of Light and power and 3 years elected City Commission. As a Marquette Resident for 36+ years and visitor for years prior, I've seen Marquette evolve into what it is today. I'm very proud of Marquette's past and have great respect for those that have come before me. At the same time, I've been a part of the process that has gotten us to where we are today. I'm not afraid to tackle any topic that our community has to deal with, and I will always be an advocate for the people.
Fiscal responsibility and general oversite to ensure our community is spending our taxpayer money in a way that impacts our daily lives in a positive manor. Also understanding when and why the city might need to responsibly bond for projects if needed. Until we can generate another revenue source for our general fund we have got to spend responsibly and tax increases are not an option.
Infrastructure maintenance is another priority topic. We are fortunate that previous Commissions have also found this topic very important and it is because of their foresight that Marquette has not had any major issue's. Major weather events are becoming much more common, and we need to maintain and improve our infrastructure to ensure we are able to handle what the future holds. I realize people probably expect me to focus on affordable housing or the homelessness issues also needing addressing, but day in and day out it comes down to our tax dollars...Yours and mine.
