1. What is it that you love about Ann Arbor? 

I love the range of communities that are part of our community. There is truly something here for everyone, for example organizing around housing scarcity and costs, environmental activism, and even the simple, everyday things like getting to establish relationships with people I meet through my kids’ school activities. We have an incredible downtown business community who all care about Ann Arbor being welcoming, inviting, and a great place to visit – it is inspiring to see the passion and commitment to showing off the best of Ann Arbor to visitors, whether you’re downtown every day or once a year. Ann Arbor’s vibrant downtown has options if you want a chill night out or a special occasion celebration, see indy or popular films, every kind of music, to walk around and enjoy public art, go to an arcade, and there are even dance parties for those of us who want to be in bed at 10 p.m. I love that Ann Arbor offers a chance to come together. To me, Ann Arbor offers an opportunity to learn from a diversity of opinions and experiences. It’s exciting to meet someone different, and to experience something new and different. Especially in these divisive times, it’s important to be reminded that the ways we are the same are more profound than the reasons why we disagree.

2. What are the three most pressing problems that you care most about fixing? 

Infrastructure is always a priority. Focusing specifically on roads, including Vision Zero to make the roads safer for all users and quick build projects to address critical needs, such as safe crosswalks near schools, traffic calming and pedestrian islands. My track record in this area, for example, advocating for speed reduction on Miller Avenue and the installation of pedestrian islands on Jackson Road. We also know our water systems are aging and need to be proactively addressed.

Housing affordability is another priority for me, specifically continuing to advance promises I made on the doors when first running for office to support gentle density, a variety of housing types, focusing on development in our TC-1 areas, and continuing to advance our affordable housing efforts. I strongly support meeting people where they are and want to be; high rises work for some, rentals work for some, some want more options like the ones we have in Ward 5 that offer duplexes, townhomes, triplexes in our neighborhoods. In order to be a welcoming city, Ann Arbor needs to continue to support and grow a diversity of housing, at a broad range of price points. Specific to affordable housing, during my tenure, the City has significantly increased the number of permanent affordable options, with 1,200 units built or in the pipeline.

Support for social services is imperative; we need to meet the private sector and step up because of cuts to federal funding. I will continue to advocate for marijuana excise tax dollars going to substance use disorder support and other wrap around services for vulnerable populations.

3. How would you go about fixing those problems?

Funding is a critical piece of fixing the challenges we face as a community. During my first term I consistently voted in favor of budget allocations for transportation infrastructure, including being a lead sponsor of a budget allocation earmarked for quick build projects.

In terms of housing, continuing to support the work of the Ann Arbor Housing Commission, and prioritizing affordable housing is a key way to address our need to make housing affordable and accessible. I also strongly support the efforts being led at the state level to proactively address housing scarcity by making it easier to build and, in some instances, convert housing from a place where one family can live to a place where two to three households can live in the same footprint. Our recently adopted Comprehensive Land Use Plan provides a roadmap for how we can make our neighborhoods more welcoming by allowing a variety of housing options to be built or converted, city-wide. I reject the idea that allowing for an existing home to be replaced by another, bigger single family home is our solution, when a duplex could easily be created by the opportunity to do something different with a very rare available piece of land in the city. Gentle density is absolutely critical to addressing our housing crisis, and I will support zoning that allows for more flexibility when it comes to imagining the potential of welcoming more neighbors to Ann Arbor.

Advocating for funding that addresses the needs of our most vulnerable populations will continue to be a priority for me. How we care for those in our community who are most in need is a reflection of our values, and it is important that our funding aligns with those values.

4. Let’s say that your solution meets resistance or some part of your plan doesn’t work. What do you do next?

My priority would be on education to build consensus. I listen to feedback and determine opportunities for compromise. If needed, I would pivot; with my entrepreneurial background, I have experience with having to course correct, to arrive at a way forward that works for the greater good.

5. You are one of two candidates running for Ward 5. How do you think the voters should think of the differences between you and your opponent?

Most importantly, I have experience as someone who could not afford to live here until I was in my 40s, despite having worked here in key roles since my mid-20s. The lack of options, the cost of renting or buying, and the overall cost of living made being an Ann Arbor citizen unattainable to me until I had grown, professionally, to a place where my salary could open up options. I understand how complex this issue is, especially as we consider the cost (financial and environmental) of commuting here for work, and when we think of the time lost during those commutes (personal and family time). I understand what it’s like to be contributing to our city while remaining on the outside, looking in.

I have experience running businesses, and when it’s your signature on the line of someone’s paycheck, you learn how to manage budgets in a way that’s practical and fiscally-responsible. I understand how to balance our goals with the realities of honoring the will of the majority of constituents, balancing what our community wants within the context of budget constraints, and the other factors that make this work complex.

I have strong ties to our downtown through my experience working at Ann Arbor SPARK, and active involvement on the MSAA board. I have the benefit of relationship-building over the course of decades. Even amongst council colleagues, I have the most experience in what downtown needs to be successful based on what I hear every day from my fellow downtown business owner/ operators, not to mention the experience being one myself. I have real-work experience in understanding the broad range of constituencies downtown and their challenges/ opportunities.

I have the experience of having gone through the learning curve after having served one term, while also acknowledging that there are still things to learn, always. There are complex issues ahead of council as we look at decisions on unarmed response, standing up the SEU, and updating our zoning. My past experiences mean I can get to the heart of these issues quickly and work with the community towards a solution.

Overall, my experience is very diverse; as a parent, business owner, nonprofit leader, and active community volunteer through board service in organizations that I care about, I am grateful for having experienced (and continuing to experience!) a diversity of thought, inputs, and sources of information and expertise.

6. The way that we do politics in this country has been changing rapidly via Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Marjorie Taylor-Greene, Abigail Spanberger, Mikie Sherrill, and Zohran Mamdani. What are your thoughts on this decade + evolution in how we do politics in this country, and how has it changed the way that you approach running for office and delivering for the people?

I’m a Gen Xer and didn’t grow up with social media. I do, however, pay close attention to how my kids consume online media in all forms, and have ongoing conversations with them about being safe online. Obviously, the mental health aspect of social media consumption is part of any comprehensive conversation about online threats, yet it’s one that dawned on me, in terms of my own self, more recently. Online media has made it incredibly easy to behave in a way you would not if you were face to face with another person. It has also created strong opportunities for echo chambers. It wasn’t until reading a particularly charged and unkind thread that I realized that social media was having a profound impact on my own mental health, and that I needed to make a change before cynicism truly took root. One of the things I observed when running for office the first time was that the vast majority of our neighbors are kind, thoughtful people, who even in disagreement, treated those disagreements with care and respect. Venturing online would lead you to believe the opposite – between conspiracy theories, baseless accusations, blatant misinformation, it’s easy to forget that we are all part of the same community, and for the most part, want what is best for Ann Arbor and each other. What has changed about my approach to running for office is ignoring social media chatter as any source of truth, instead focusing on delivering for the people, having real conversations with our neighbors, and silencing the useless noise that threatens to distract me from that work.

7. The nation is at an extremely low ebb in democratic participation, trust in institutions, and feeling truly connected to a community. I want to give you the chance to make your case to AA Observer readers that you really care about them, and that you are the right person, with the right talents and strategy, to make meaningful changes that will improve their economic lot in life, safeguard the rule of law, make sure that they won’t be left behind, and that you can ensure their inclusion and dignity in Treetown.

It is imperative that Ann Arbor doesn’t simply endure, it’s imperative that Ann Arbor thrives. Vibrant neighborhoods, vibrant downtown, vibrant parks and open spaces… we can continue to be a model in these areas for years to come with the thoughtful, experienced, and collaborative leadership I represent. I care very much about values that are broadly shared in Ann Arbor – housing that allows us to show that we are indeed welcoming and inclusive, delivering safe and solid infrastructure for all, and advancing our sustainability goals in a time of climate change and crisis. I actively have and will continue to support our downtown businesses through involvement and leadership that advocates for their needs, from Summer Streets to activating our downtown spaces to create opportunities for community, for residents and visitors alike. I believe Ann Arbor is a city that we can all be proud to call home, whether you live here now or benefit from being able to move here – or relocate/ downsize within the city as a current resident – because, as a leader, I’ve contributed to making the opportunity available.

8. Zingerman’s, Ahmos, No Thai, Fleetwood, or Le Dog. Where would you rather go to lunch?

Wow, not a bad option in this list, so it’s a difficult question. I will go with Le Dog, since I rarely make soup or hot dogs at home. AND, you can get Zingerman’s bread to go with your soup, so you get to enjoy two of the options on your list with one lunch!