If this is the first time you are running for public office, what qualified you for the position you seek? If you are in incumbent, what accomplishments merit your re-election? 

1) I love living in Tempe. It’s a wonderfully eclectic and diverse community.   My husband, Brian and I chose to move to Tempe to raise our family here. 

2) I have a real passion for good public policy and making government actually work for people.  I have been involved in public policy in volunteer positions for many years.  

3) Professionally, I have worked as a researcher and advocate and will bring those skills to the Council. 

4) My belief about what is important as a city council member–protecting the quality of life in our city, ensuring an accessible and responsive city hall and always, always treating the tax payers dollars with more respect than our personal money.

 Pick a major issue in Tempe this past year. How would you have handled it if you had been on council? If you are an incumbent, please detail how you impacted this issue.

 Eminent domain.  The previous administration entered into a contract with the developer that allowed for eminent domain to be used.  I would have never voted for this.  Instead, I would have encouraged the private entities to work towards a win-win solution on their own.  This was an improper use of eminent domain.  As a result, this caused great angst for those of us who believe taking private property away to give to another private entity is one of the reasons we severed our ties to King George of England in the 1700s.   Fortunately, the current administration was able to encourage the private groups to work out their differences and the issue was resolved without the use of eminent domain. 

Tempe is experiencing major change downtown and along Town Lake. Are these changes putting us on the right track? Why or why not?

We need to move forward responsibly. Any time major changes take place great effort needs to be made to mitigate any potential negative effects changes have on any of our citizens.  Currently, the lake is a burden on our city budget. It needs to be developed responsibly in order to realize its potential as a huge asset for the city. Regarding the development in downtown Tempe, we have an opportunity to grow vertically.  But the growth needs to be closely overseen so that it does not undermine the stability of our neighborhoods.  This is an on-going balancing act for the city that can be aided by the formation of “Village Planning Committees”.  Phoenix has successfully used “Village Planning Committees” for years.   These Committees can empower our residents to have a voice in development surrounding their neighborhoods and concurrently help developers work out project conflicts with residents early in the development process.

 Tempe is an aging and landlocked city. What would you do to ensure our neighborhoods remain vibrant? 

In order for Tempe to protect its neighborhoods, we need to:

1)    Continue to enforce our current city codes both in our neighborhoods and in our business areas. 

2)    Continually assess our community’s police and fire coverage to assure that we are never understaffed and underserved. 

3)    Renew our neighborhood parks on a regular and systemic basis.

4)    Reduce speeding and cut-through traffic in our neighborhoods by enforcing traffic laws and expanding the use of traffic calming measures.

5)    Being landlocked, city officials need to continue to cultivate a good working relationship with other governmental entities that control many of the “pass-through” issues by which Tempe citizens are affected.  Issues such as the Union Pacific Railway deciding to put a switching station behind Tempe High and Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital, or SRP’s 69KV lines through South Tempe required the city to work positively with those entities that had the legal authority when Tempe didn’t. “Pass through” issues will always be a challenge for our landlocked community.

6)    Utilize our neighborhood associations and other city communication vehicles to maximize community input in order to continually assess the needs of our citizens.  Tempeans are bright and creative when it comes to solutions; we should continually ask our residents for their ideas.

 Tempe has many residential and office projects underway, which present many challenges and opportunities. Do you think that the city council has taken the right approach to development? What would you differently if you are not an incumbent?

 I support the current council’s efforts to end the practice of entangling the City in projects that require millions of dollars in tax breaks and subsidies with no apparent result or benefit to our residents.  While tax incentives can be used responsibly, in the past, the city has been excessive in its use of these development tools.  We need to use these tools only when absolutely necessary and when there is an obvious benefit to our citizens.  Additionally, we need to believe what the City promotes about Tempe - that it is a great place to work, play and live. We can’t forget that it is also a great place for developers to build.  We have so much to offer; we don’t need to be giving the proverbial store away.   

Tempe is appealing a lawsuit, where a jury found that the city discriminated against and retaliated against Latino workers. Some have demanded that the city apologize. What do you think? 

Of course these folks deserve an apology; racial discrimination is wrong and so is the retaliation that was reported.  Discrimination in the work place is a serious issue.  However, apologies and admissions of wrong doing by government entities are not the same as one person admitting wrong doing and apologizing to another.  When this issue entered the court system, it came under the purview of lawyers and courts and that is where it remains today.  As a councilmember, I would take seriously any charge of discrimination and demand immediate action to eliminate discriminatory practices.  Tempe will not be successful in any measure, if all of its citizens and city workers are not safe from the harm and injustice of discrimination. 

Tempe neighborhoods are concerned about rental housing. What would you do to deal with the issue?

I would encourage the council to enforce current city codes and ensure we aren’t understaffed in the area of code enforcement.  Rental housing in neighborhoods should meet maintenance standards and tenants should respect neighborhood values; landlords should be held responsible for tenant violations of housing codes.

Tempe has struggled to protect its historic sites. What would you do if elected?

It’s exciting to see such enthusiasm for preservation of our historic sites among our private citizens.   The city should capture this enthusiasm and aide these private entities in their efforts to preserve our historic sites by

1)    encourage prudent and responsible public / private partnerships.

2)    providing coordination and expertise from city staff to share institutional knowledge.

3)    making available any city resources the city already has that would prove helpful.