I’m running for Rochester City Council because our city deserves leadership that puts people over profits, and community over corporations. For too long, decisions have been made behind closed doors, public dollars have gone to private interests, and working-class people have been left to fend for themselves in a city they helped build.
I believe that everyday people deserve a real say in the decisions shaping our lives. On City Council, I’ll continue to fight alongside you to ensure that all of our residents have the opportunity to live a good life.
TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY
One of the biggest challenges we face is top-down decision-making that ignores the people most affected. We need leadership that opens doors instead of closing them. I believe in government that is transparent, accessible, and accountable—where community voices guide policy, not get shut out of it.
That means more than just being heard before decisions are made—it means being part of deciding what we’re doing in the first place. We need public processes that start with the people, not just end with them. We deserve a government that listens, collaborates, and works with us every step of the way.
SAFE, AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Housing should be about homes, not profit. Too many of our neighborhoods are being hollowed out by corporate landlords and short-term rental investors who don’t live here and don’t care about our community. They’re not investing in our neighborhoods—they’re extracting wealth from them.
I believe in protecting and expanding affordable housing, but also in preserving what we already have. That means helping longtime residents—especially our elders—make the repairs and adaptations they need to stay safely in their homes. We need to invest in programs that prevent housing decay and support aging in place with dignity.
We have to stop out-of-town private equity firms from buying up our single-family homes, and work to make it easier for tenants to become owners—through co-operative models and tenant purchase options. Because true community safety grows from local ownership, long-term care, and putting in more than you take out.
COMMUNITY RESILIENCE & LOCAL SELF-SUFFICIENCY
Our future depends on how we prepare today. The work we do now to build a city that’s self-sufficient, sustainable, and grounded in care means a better tomorrow for ourselves and our children. That means exploring public power, growing local food systems, investing in literacy and shared knowledge, and making sure no one is left behind. When we educate and connect our communities, we grow the power to make lasting change.
We know more challenges are coming—climate change, economic uncertainty, and unexpected disruptions. We need to be ready, not just for what we can predict, but for what we can’t. As an artist and a creative problem solver, I know how to adapt, build with what we’ve got, and bring people together to face hard problems with bold, practical solutions.