VOTE411 Voter Guide

City Council is stronger when its members bring a diversity of backgrounds and experiences to the table. My work as an artist has taught me to think creatively, manage complex, multi-phase projects, and collaborate across cultures and communities to bring ideas to life. It’s also given me a deep understanding of the importance of planning ahead for better outcomes and long-term cost savings.

As a community organizer, I’ve worked to make sure residents’ voices lead decision-making—and to help people better understand how local government works, so they can engage with it and hold it accountable. Over the past year, I’ve built on that experience by serving as a legislative aide—supporting constituents and learning the inner workings of City Council in preparation for stepping into the role.

We are facing an unknown future, and I believe my experience in working collaboratively in finding solutions to novel challenges will be an asset to the body and our city.

Rochester faces a serious housing crisis. Over 63% of our residents are renters, and too many are living one rent hike away from eviction or displacement. We need to stabilize housing by preserving and repairing what we have, expanding affordable options, preventing private equity takeovers, and giving tenants a real path to ownership. Housing is a foundation for stability, safety, and opportunity, and we can’t build a strong city without it.

The second major challenge is preparing for the growing impacts of climate change and economic uncertainty. That means investing now in local food production, clean public power, and programs that strengthen community connections and economic independence. If we want a city where everyone can thrive—not just survive—we need to build resilience into everything we do, starting now.

Rather than focusing on endless growth, we should support our residents and local economy by investing in care infrastructure. New York State is facing a care crisis, with a large boomer generation aging out of the workforce and into needing care. We need a strong workforce of home health aides, childcare providers, and care workers—and we can create good jobs by investing in training, fair wages, and career pathways in these fields. Supporting a care-based economy would strengthen families, help seniors age safely at home, and create real opportunities for both youth and adults.

We should also expand programs that create jobs through repairing homes, growing local food, and building clean energy systems. Every investment we make should put our people to work solving real community needs—not just chasing flashy developments that leave residents behind.

Yes, Rochester has a serious shortage of safe and affordable housing. Much of our housing stock is aging and in need of major repairs, and too often, absentee and corporate landlords take out more than they invest in, letting property conditions decline, and ignoring occupancy rules. City Council can address this by investing in programs that help preserve and repair existing homes, expanding affordable housing options, and creating pathways for tenants to become owners. We also need stronger protections for renters and policies that prevent private equity firms from stripping wealth out of our neighborhoods.

I believe a City Council member should have a balance of qualifications and experience. A council member should be an advocate for the community. I have been an advocate since coming out at the age of 16, starting with advocating for equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community. My advocacy has only expanded over the years; I have worked and advocated for policy focused on housing, healthcare access, safer streets, and environmental justice, among several other social justice initiatives. Advocating isn’t enough if you can’t pull other members together and work within the system to get policy approved. A City Council member also needs to be able to govern and understand governance in this role. I have served on several boards, including the city’s Preservation Board. This has helped me understand the role of a governing body and how to work collectively with others to move forward policies and strategic plans for the betterment of the organization.

I believe that all our challenges are interconnected; the overarching challenge is the poverty in the community. There isn’t a single solution to solve this problem, but we can take steps to tackle it. We can work on expanding jobs and creating opportunities through job training and apprenticeship programs. One of the challenges with employment or meeting basic needs is access and transportation. We need to improve our transportation system and work on ensuring that work opportunities are in the city and not going to the outskirts of the county, so that everyone can get to them. We should also look at increasing the wages of city workers and increasing the minimum wage.

The other main challenge is our public safety challenges. We need to invest in intervention programs and address the root causes of the crime, especially focusing on our youth.

City Council can create several opportunities that would provide jobs to city residents. The city ambassador program should be expanded to create other opportunities that not only employ city residents but also improve the quality of life.

To create youth jobs City Council can work to expand the youth work program. The city can also work with the trades to create apprenticeship programs.

Yes, there is a shortage of safe and affordable housing. The city is taking some steps to address this through improving the zoning code, which will help create more housing options in broader parts of the City. The affordability will continue to be a challenge if not addressed correctly. However, the city needs to create an intentional and comprehensive housing plan. We need to create a plan that can help bring someone from homelessness to home ownership. I believe that supporting community-controlled models/community land trusts is a way o creating sustainable, affordable housing.