Occupation: Vendor Risk Manager

Relevant experience: 20 years in financial services industry, B.A. General Management, MBA IT Strategy, Board Member Aberdeen Rotary, Past President Raindrop Preschool.

1. Describe your thoughts on the city’s response to the complex homeless issue, including its purchase of the S. Michigan St. property, its handling of federal court rulings directing the city’s response, and what you, as a city council member, would do to tackle the issue over the next several years.

The city has acted quickly in response to federal court rulings and communication with citizens has been lacking at times. I was not in favor of the purchase of the Michigan Street property as further due diligence should have been completed to ensure location viability for not only local businesses and residents, but the homeless as well. Nearby residents and businesses have concerns with the move and we need to further investigate and address these before expanding and moving. Now that the city has met the court’s expectations, I would like us to fully analyze the Michigan Street property including zoning, police activity and other stakeholder impacts.

Looking forward, I want to see an advisory committee formed of citizen volunteers who assist in development of a long-term plan for creation and oversight of the camp. It should be comprised of a wide array of backgrounds, including those with past or present experience with both homelessness and addiction. We also need to begin engaging with individuals in the camp and building a rapport in order to encourage them to seek treatment, when needed, and find permanent options for shelter. Instead of adding to the camp, the long term goal should be reduction and getting people the support they need. We have many organizations and individuals locally who provide aid. We need to get everyone working together rather than in silos.

As important is our ability to enforce laws. Many criminal transients have refused to move into the city sanctioned camp and found other places to settle. We must keep our neighborhoods safe and ensure our business owners can fully operate. I’m glad to see our police are again able to enforce our ordinances in support of these activities and would like to see them continue to approach situations with compassion.

2. The city is moving forward with its quest for a City Administrator. Do you believe such a hire is a good investment for the city? Do you support the idea of a City Administrator?

I am in support of having a city administrator in Aberdeen because it is critical to have strong leadership in our City and someone who provides clear direction based on the mayor and council’s recommendations. Our city has so many projects occurring simultaneously and we need someone who can keep all the balls in the air and move things forward. A city administrator would be the constant leader at City Hall for our departments. Unlike elected officials, many city administrators have specialized education in city planning, administration and development and have followed a specific career path in municipal service. Their expertise provides organizational efficiencies and end up being a cost savings. Neighboring cities have seen much success from their City Administrators as have cities throughout Washington state. Funding for a city administrator has been approved by the current council and efforts to recruit have been placed on hold until after the election. When an administrator is hired, we need to ensure the mayor, city administrator and council all understand each other’s roles and responsibilities so we are efficient from the onset.

3. Aberdeen faces a lot of complicated issues in the coming years (infrastructure improvements, catching up with a constantly changing economy, lack of affordable housing, etc.). As a council member, what would you do to address what you feel is the most pressing issue facing the city in the near future?

Our biggest issue is the need to improve and enhance infrastructure in our community. We are faced with many improvements needed related to our water, sewers, railways and bridges. While all of these projects benefit us, they may come at a cost to citizens. With many on a fixed income, I want to ensure we are proactive with communication about impacts to citizens, allow for the opportunity to provide feedback and give ample time to people to plan for changes. Some updates will require capital improvements and my focus will be positioning us to be competitive for alternative funding from federal, state and local sources.

Our community also benefits greatly from the completion of both the North Shore Levee Project and the East Aberdeen Mobility Project. We need to continue to move these projects forward and prioritize completion. With these projects and others, I’d like to see the city hold periodic meetings to provide updates. It’s important to keep everyone informed of progress and the lines of communication open, especially during periods where much work is occurring behind the scenes.