Under its strong mayor-commission system, the commission is the legislative body responsible for taxation, appropriations and general city functions. It makes policy, enacts laws and zoning regulations, adopts the budget, authorizes bond issues and contracts, sets fees and ensures code enforcement. The mayor leads executive functions. Terms are four years; elections are at-large. Annual salary: $48.920
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Education
Bachelor of Arts from Rollins College; Juris Doctorate from St. Thomas University
Experience
Chair, Northend Coalition of Neighborhoods, Emerging Leader, Economic Council of Palm Beach County, Board Member, Neighborhood Renaissance, Inc., Health Care District of Palm Beach County, Board Member
Endorsements
Fraternal Order of Police, West Palm Beach Fire Fighters, Human Rights Council Voters Alliance, Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches, Hispanic Vote of PBC, the Realtors of Broward, the Palm Beaches, & St. Lucie, NorthPAC, Human Rights Council Voters Alliance
Campaign Phone
561-689-9787
The high costs of living in our city is one of the biggest issues that residents deal with. When basic necessities become more expensive while wages remain stagnant, it becomes even more important for us as an elected body to save taxpayer dollars anyway we can. There are multiple ways we can help, including: cutting our millage rate which would result in some cost savings for our residents; incentivizing development in under developed areas; and incentivizing the development of more affordable housing.
Our city's greatest strength is our ability to get things done as a City Commission. Our community works together well to ensure we are making responsible decisions on the dais and I am proud of the collaborative approach we take. I hope to continue leading in such a way and even increase the level of resident input and participation in our decision-making process by holding more charrettes, fielding more surveys and workshops, and continuing to keep residents in the loop through newsletter communications and other updates.
First thing we should focus on is finding instances where City services can be streamlined, de- duplicated, and made more efficient, typically through the use of updated practices or new technologies. While I feel the city has been moving in that direction, given the political climate, we will need to rapidly increase the pace. By finding, fixing, and perfecting the processes and methods we use to do our work at the city, we can cut costs without having to cut funding. Once those options are exhausted, the only other way to address revenue losses is by cutting funding from nonessential services where possible while also actively looking for alternative funding streams from private or governmental means to keep those services available.
As previously stated, I think through the use of technology and AI analysis we have the ability to identify areas where our work may be duplicative, outdated, or missing the mark, and improve and adjust our approach to save money and time in the long run. If work we are doing at the city overlaps with the county or another agency, we need to have hard discussions on who is best equipped to continue to provide the services.
The City of West Palm Beach follows all laws mandated by the State and has directed our Police Department to enforce these prohibitions to the best of their ability within our city limits. As a City, we are also working with community partners to ensure our homeless residents have access to a shelter, bed and adequate essential resources even though they are no longer allowed to sleep or camp in public areas.
