Press

KBIA Interviews (on YouTube)

Q & A

Q: What will be your priorities if elected to the City Council?

A: I will spur the First Ward into its rightful spot as the center of Columbia life through innovative housing solutions, youth services and affordable cultural opportunities. We must signal our city's moral obligation to increase opportunity and quality of life here by making landlords more accountable, improving police protection and accountability and giving more attention to sidewalks, schools, streets and parks. We will encourage smart, green, living-wage jobs that don't imperil our natural environment, while stimulating new and existing businesses. We must prepare First Ward residents to be competitive job candidates by offering reliable transportation, affordable day care, and access to basic neighborhood services. I will strongly advocate for comprehensive planning, will make myself accessible to constituents and will facilitate ward representation on boards and commissions.

Q: What do you want the people of Columbia to know about the First Ward that they perhaps don't already know?

A: The First Ward is diverse and vibrant, encompassing downtown, MU and historic neighborhoods that stretch from College Avenue to the ARC and from Broadway to the freeway. We have an opportunity to build a model small city in the Midwest, one that takes care of its own while attracting the best and brightest, and which features a robust, pedestrian-friendly city center. We can use creative planning to enhance the environment for Columbia's residential, business and cultural communities while retaining a strong mix of homegrown businesses, and incorporating new and restored mixed-income housing units. With the North Central Arts District, including Orr Street, we can use policy to support the market-driven renaissance occurring in the downtown economy based on cultural and arts-related businesses and jobs.

Q: Thinking beyond your resume, how do your personality and personal experiences make you a good candidate for representing the interests of the First Ward?

A: I like to think about big projects and possibilities, not just problems. This approach is what made Ragtag and the True/False Film Fest a reality. But obviously I haven't done any of this by my lonesome. I'm able to communicate the ideas to people, help get them to share the vision and enthusiasm and above all, get them to participate, to take ownership. I'm an open-minded and curious person who enjoys meeting a wide range of people. This makes me well-suited to represent the breadth and scope of the First Ward. I thrive on give-and-take collaboration with others, which allows a far better end result. I am also a very hopeful and positive person. I try to elevate groups to call on their higher natures.

Q: How would you balance the interests of your First Ward constituents with the interests of all Columbia residents?

A: After decades of public policy that encouraged sprawl, we must make a strong case that we all benefit from an enriched center that includes the First Ward. Our downtown is and should be considered the heart of Columbia, and it's a point of pride for all of us. It means more jobs; it means cultural, entertainment and dining experiences; and for those who live in the First Ward, it means home. We need to attend to the basics here: safe neighborhoods, affordable housing, nutritious food, effective schools, living-wage jobs and competent health care. With on-the-ground improvements — investing in early childhood development, job creation and mixed-income housing — we will stabilize a currently volatile situation in which some residents have lost hope for their future.

Q: If the First Ward were to reach its full potential, becoming as vibrant and healthy as you want it to become, how would you envision its role in and importance to the rest of Columbia?

A: If we are able to build a sustainable, thriving center of our town, we will prove that even the most intractable challenges can be solved with good planning, inclusive collaborations and hard work. The First Ward can become the village within the city at large and become the focal point for a lion's share of our investment. By concentrating our investments in the city's center, we can avoid costly outlays for sewers, police, fire stations and roads on the outskirts of town. If we can focus on creating energy-efficient developments, we can avoid hundreds of millions of dollars spent on new power plants. This is growth with an eye to the future — one that doesn't mortgage our children's quality of life for short-term gain.