As your City Councilor, I will prioritize the following areas of work. 

Cost of Living, Taxes and City Budget

The number one concern of so many people across Providence is the rapidly rising cost of living. Whether you own your home or rent, everyone is feeling the effects of the housing shortage, inflation, high interest rates, and higher property taxes. We need to do everything we can to slow the increase of costs for our residents fairly, while also figuring out how we can generate the revenue the city needs to provide the services we all rely on.

Responsive Constituent Services

I promise to always get back to you as quickly as possible with information, answers, and solutions. And if I cannot get you that, then I will connect you with the people who can. I want the city to work for you when you need it.

Student Success in Schools

I think too often when we talk about the schools we lose sight of who matters most in the conversation, our students.  It’s simply unacceptable that our schools continue to struggle when there are best practices and innovative approaches that have been successful elsewhere. I will support any proposal (regardless of who proposes it) that will demonstrably improve the opportunity and learning outcomes for our students.  Whether or not you have school age children, the entire city suffers when our public schools are neglected. 

Housing Affordability and Safety

Providence and Rhode Island face a housing affordability crisis. Too many people are effectively priced out of the market for rentals and home purchases, and there is no end in sight to the problem. This affects the entire city - the city can’t thrive unless the people who work here can also afford to live here. And if you have young adult children as I do, and you would like them to have the option of returning to Providence as they begin their careers, the rise in housing costs is a significant obstacle.  On many levels this is a supply and demand problem - we need to build more housing, especially affordable housing. We also need to explore other means of keeping housing costs under control.

Pedestrian Safety and Disability Accessibility

It should not be so hard to safely get around our city if you walk or have mobility challenges.  I will prioritize efforts to make our city more walkable, bikeable, and accessible, through timely repairs and improvements to our sidewalks, roadways, and public infrastructure throughout the city, including city hall. This is especially important to our older residents who want to remain in their homes as they age. We all know someone who has tripped and fallen on a Providence sidewalk. That can be painful and annoying when you’re in your 40s, but it can be a much more serious problem for our seniors.

–

Check back here later in the campaign.  I will release a full set of priorities after speaking to more people in our community first.