Smart Growth for the future and Neighborhood Integrity 

I believe the first duty of the city council is to uphold the basic services it has committed to our residents- roads, utility infrastructure, beautiful parks and all the things that make Arlington home. As we have opportunities to grow, each project must be evaluated not for the value added but based on it’s potential for redevelopment and how it will strengthen the neighborhoods around it. Our responsibility as city leaders, one I have taken seriously in my role on the Arlington ISD school board over the last 13 years, is to wisely allocate the city’s budget to provide the best services for every resident in every neighborhood, wisely navigate growth and support in times of crisis. We do that through conservative stewardship of tax dollars, setting bold goals and the steps to reach them, and focusing on upholding our commitment to the residents who choose to make Arlington home.

Invest in Public Safety

Our first responders must be a key focus for the future of Arlington.  With cities around the world facing a rising crime rate and difficulty recruiting the next generation of police officers and fire fighters, Arlington must prioritize hiring and the retention of our existing first responders in order to maintain its safety standards expected by residents. Arlington is the best place in DFW to raise a family and as the city council we need to focus on keeping it the best place to work as a first responder - provide competitive pay and benefits and be a city council who supports and funds their police and fire departments. This is the only way we will stay competitive for hiring and keep the streets of Arlington as safe as possible for all our families.

Increased Road Works

Right now Arlington is years into a quarter cent tax funded project renovating and redeveloping roads in our city. Though at times frustrating for all drivers, we have seen the areas flourish after their roads are brought up to the quality we expect of our city and have seen investment and redevelopment follow these crucial roadworks boosting Arlington’s economy. We need to continue this program and ensure that just as it is paid for by every Arlington resident, it is benefitting every resident and improvements that cover every neighborhood in our city.

Prioritize Small Businesses

Arlington worked hard to protect the small businesses that make up the heart of our city when COVID hit and put financial challenges on so many. After taxpayers approved the quarter cent tax to fund economic development, City Council has been working to ensure the funds have been allocated by the Economic Development Corporation  to benefit real small businesses in our city, help them move on from COVID created issues and now supply chain shortages. We have invested in small business incubators to help people grow their businesses from the beginning.  In addition, as an AISD trustee, I worked to start programs that have matched students with businesses as well as taught the next generation of entrepreneurs to dream big through our focus for  technical and career programs. Small businesses employ residents, provide services to the community and make up the heart and soul of our neighborhoods, on the city council I will work to ensure we are investing in local business owners here in our city.

Code Enforcement to refresh our city

Areas of our city in need of repair and restoration often have code issues that need to be enforced before those issues can hurt the entire neighborhood. I want to work to better allocate funds for code enforcement in our city budget so we can catch problems early, follow through to monitor changes and keep every neighborhood in Arlington a safe and healthy place for families.