When I ran for City Council in 2013, I talked with many of you about our community. You told me you wanted: a safer community; financially solvent city; expanded and quality economic opportunities; road paving; enhanced quality of life; and to keep our small town feel.  And I told you that I would make the hard decisions.

As Deputy Mayor, and part of your leadership team, we stopped the downward spiral of the City. Today, our City is solvent and our outlook is healthy.

I’m not here to build a political resume so I can move on to a higher office. I’m running to continue the vitally important work of maintaining Des Moines’ sustainable and long-term health. We build now so that future councils, city leaders and citizens will not be in the same difficult situation.

I hope that I’ve earned your trust, and humbly ask again for your vote.

If elected I will work to create a more transparent government; one which listens to the concerns of all neighborhoods. I believe we can do a much better job of informing residents what your government is doing and then give you the opportunity to weigh in.

We need to develop a serious long-term economic vision that takes into account the entire city. Let’s start by creating a downtown that is a destination for visitors, an opportunity for local business and a gathering place for the community.

We also need better support for parks and recreation and stronger code enforcement. We need to make sure that Des Moines is the safest, cleanest and most attractive option possible for the next generation to raise their families.

Finally, we need to actively start pushing back against the further expansion of air traffic over our city. This is a challenge we must address now.