VOTE411 Voter Guide

As AIder, I have continued to support an increase in the affordable housing fund both in 2023 and 2024 budget seasons.The city is working hard to increase its affordable housing options, which presents ongoing challenges and long timelines. From past experiences what we’ve learned is that we have to build more mixed income housing to meet people where they are at. What we are missing is the middle/working class income housing. We know the median rent in Madison is $1,466/month. In order to not be a rent burden & pay 30% or more of their income on housing they have to make $58,632/year. We’ve learned that we can not have just one building concentrated in low-income residents. Increasing density is key too in the Transit overlay district.

I believe all these items must be considered when developing an area. There should be conversations with the police departments, schools, and other businesses of what they might want to see developed in the area where they serve. It is important to think about how many people/families may be added to the area, and if the area and schools are equipped to handle more folks coming into the neighborhood. Environmental justice is something that I care deeply about and I want to preserve as much nature & wildlife as possible, as well as making sure areas are environmentally clean for housing development. As a city, preservation of healthy trees and wildlife is key. In all the planning we know some compromises need to be made.

During my third term, I will continue to work on public safety and being a champion of the CARES program, which originated in my first term as Alder. I have supported the expansion of the CARES program three times since being elected. The data shows me that more funding should be directed to the CARES program, and I will work to get them to 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Since its conception in 2021, CARES has responded to 7,787 calls, with only 2% needing law enforcement. I want to see them expand to all surrounding areas. Sun Prairie plans to start their CARES program in early February which I supported. We are reminded daily that we need more violence prevention. We have to send the right professionals to the right job.

In 2016, I joined a Community Building and Engagement program called Neighborhood Organizing Institute. It was a leadership development program that fostered community leaders to evolve into organizers. A major accomplishment was organizing residents to get a meeting with the property manager at my housing complex to stop the unfair towing of cars. We were successful in getting the towing to stop. That experience taught me that people’s voices have power. I have a Bachelor's degree in Human Services. Since being elected I have served on a variety of committees including: Sustainable Madison Committee, Community Development Block Grant, Landlord and Tenant Issues Committee, Disability Rights Committee, Board of Public Works and Sister City Committee. I have worked on the Sustainability Plan, West Area plan, I supported the Men’s homeless shelter and Public Market. I slowed down the process for the Sauk Creek Greenway to engage my constituents to make sure their voices were being heard.

Addressing housing needs has not moved beyond talking about the need for affordable housing. A major concern for many is the cost of housing, yet city planners lack creativity and do not ask or think about what is on hand and how can we BEST utilize available spaces by adapting/repurposing former office buildings into small 75-100 sq. ft. units with community kitchens and dining space(s) and repurpose spaces in vacant strip malls into livable spaces 125-225 sq. ft. spaces. The benefit: all or most are located near public transportation, shops and essential services, etc.

Partnering is a first step. Partnering with communities; that is, having a seat at the table before a plan is developed or a decision has been made is key. Listen to and utilize the knowledge of residents to determine whether his/her project is a structural good fit, has negative or positive benefits (increased traffic, property value concerns, become an integral part of the community, etc.). City planners as well as private developers must be transparent with their plan(s) that includes evaluation strategies and outcomes.

Plans for evaluation should be on the front burner for every project. Too many projects are over budgeted, run past completion dates and are not well-thought out from a constituent's perspective. How do you know whether what you stated you would do worked? Projects lack plans for evaluative measures. A well thought out evaluation plan holds one accountable, saves money, do-overs and include opportunities to modify a project if unintended problems arise. I do believe that developing skills to evaluate is a necessary tool for city planners and those engaged in informing constituents and other stakeholders.

I have an earned Ph.D. degree in education policy, a master's degree in medical-surgical nursing and a bachelor's degree in nursing, I have practiced clinically in New York City, Chicago Il and Rochester, MN. I am well-armed with administrative, supervisory, research and lecturing skills which, when combined, have provided me with opportunities to conceptualize problems from a variety of perspectives. Five years ago, a dear friend asked me to assist her church and a committee (A More Just Community) which is predominantly white in dealing with racism following the Charlottesville, VA incident. After meeting with the MJC committee, I proposed a series of four interactive workshops dealing with racism and billed it as "When the Diagnosis is Racism" which included: 1) the diagnosis, 2) the signs & symptoms, 3) the treatment and 4) the prognosis. Feel free to visit: You Tube & type in: "When the Diagnosis is Racism" for the five videos. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.