VOTE411 Voter Guide

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I'm running to lead by example and build a healthy future. As a mother and educator, I've seen that our young people don't understand how county government affects their daily lives or how to get involved. I want to translate how county board decisions impact District 7—housing, public health, public safety, climate action. For nearly a decade, I've been serving this community—4-H volunteer, educator, grant writer, warming center volunteer, climate action advisor. Now I'm ready to be in the room asking questions, making informed decisions that account for what my neighborhood needs. District 7 needs strong leadership for our urban neighborhoods at the county level, someone who can build bridges for our families with city and county government. My coalition-building experience—bringing together environmental advocates, neighborhood groups, business leaders, and working families—positions me to ensure county services understand what we need now and what our future needs.

I am still learning what District 7 needs. Many resources might come from the city first. I would work to understand the dynamics between city and county and communicate that back to District 7. The bigger question: what resources do we need so District 7 residents can be successful when they're going to work or school outside our district? We need more housing and affordable housing—lending practices allowing more first-time home buyers, supportive housing, and strong tenant rights. We need public health across all ages, school-based mental health and family support accessible to all students regardless of district, affordable childcare enabling parents to access living-wage work, services for elder care and veterans, mobile crisis teams, and services in multiple languages. We need transparency showing where county money goes and strengthening what's already working—supporting effective county programs and community organizations serving healthy, multigenerational communities.

I attend community coffee hour at Hope Restores monthly, building relationships and hearing stories. Through that, I see two issues: 1) Growing service demand without sustainable funding mechanisms. Federal budget cuts threaten essential services—public health, mental health, housing assistance, food support—while need continues growing. Our county works hard to apply for funding and balance budgets, but do we have funding mechanisms to sustain current services, much less grow with demand? Unknown federal and state impacts create uncertainty trickling down to county programs, making long-term planning nearly impossible when families need stability now. 2) Affordable housing and economic insecurity. Housing costs prevent wealth-building and force impossible choices between rent, food, and healthcare. This drives mental health crises, family instability, homelessness, and public safety concerns. A living wage with affordable housing should be for every resident in La Crosse County.

Together with the Board I would address our growing service demand without sustainable funding by building resilient county budgets prioritizing essential services despite federal cuts. We can shift resources from reactive crisis response to proactive community services—focused on prevention serving residents better long-term. We could partner with Foundations to strengthen community organizations already delivering services efficiently and support collaborations already securing state funding. For affordable housing and economic insecurity I would advocate for inclusionary zoning, strengthen tenant rights, and explore county-backed financing helping first-time home buyers. I would support county contracts for local or regional hiring with living wages, as well as give support to apprenticeships, entrepreneurship, and green infrastructure. I would support the Pathways Home program for housing and ensure transparency on where the money goes and how decisions impact lives.