May 23, 2020

The City Council to be seated after the June 2 election faces many challenges. The first immediate challenge will be managing the repercussions of the COVID 19 pandemic on the City’s budget. These effects on the budget may compound other problems we were already facing.

Our City is still growing but is also aging. Therefore, Council needs to plan for building new infrastructure as well as address the City’s aging infrastructure and how to pay for its repair and maintenance. We may also need to grow some city service departments such as public works, public safety and others and will need to find ways to increase personnel and equipment.

Council also needs to be thinking long-term in the City’s growth. We know in the next decade or so that 4,000 acres will be developed. We need to be strategic so that we are building a city that our children can return to as adults and can live, work and play. This means working to attract more companies and working to encourage neighborhoods that offer a range of price points and appeal to multiple generations.

My husband, Jim, and I chose to move here twenty years ago, and we have raised our four children in Lee’s Summit. We have lived in District 3 that entire time. I was first elected to City Council in 2016 and have had no conflicts of interest in the past 4 years and don’t anticipate any for the next 4 years.

My education and work experience have focused on politics and government. I have graduate degrees in political science and public administration and have broad work experiences in government and politics. I am now self-employed and work for a variety of clients doing research, writing or other specialized work.