A key priority for Ward 3 is to make sure the city gets back to basics. The mayor has made a massive push and publicity campaign for Picture Main Street, a project with lofty goals, and Ward 3 sees that other priorities are getting brushed aside in deference to it.
So I’d like to suggest that we “Picture Side Streets” and shift some of the city’s attention back to the streets, sidewalks, and schools that people rely on every day. We can do this and invest in our downtown businesses and meadow farms in ways that won't disrupt the economy or shortchange our city services.
Working together with the residents of Ward 3 as their city councilor, I've workshopped numerous ways that we can improve city government. Three main issues that I’m running on are fixing our roads and sidewalks, funding our schools, and empowering the public to pursue your many commendable interests.
The bottom line is I've heard loud and clear that you want to see your tax dollars put to better use, and you want to be more involved in the process. That's what I want, too, and we can achieve both.
"Picture Side Streets" Platform:
“Picture Side Streets” partly means fixing potholes, maintaining and creating sidewalks – and making sure they’re accessible and usable to everyone, including people who use wheelchairs, walkers, and strollers. To do this we need to take a fresh approach to how we fund capital projects, and we need to fully fund our DPW, giving long-overdue raises to our city workers and attracting new employees to join us.
Every year, the city leaves millions of dollars on the table that could have instead been put towards essential services like plowing roads, clearing sidewalks, and fixing potholes. Rather than pay DPW employees a reasonable wage, we let vacant positions go unfilled year after year, which means we don't have enough people on staff to respond effectively to snow and ice storms.
As a city councilor, I have worked with state and local municipal financial experts to develop a better budgeting process that would free up the money required to pay for DPW raises, making sure that your tax dollars are put to work fixing your roads instead of collecting dust in a bank.
I've also identified better ways to finance large investments in capital projects so that we can honor our responsibility under Civil Rights laws to provide accessible and safe sidewalks. We can also free up funds by focusing only on high-priority projects valued by the community, giving the public a real opportunity to weigh in on spending.
As a mom of three young children enrolled at Bridge Street School, the daughter of a public school teacher, and the product of public schools myself, I know how important it is to provide a solid education to set every child up for success. Good schools are also a big part of what makes a community a desirable place to live, which is important for our economy.
To that end, I have been questioning and fighting the mayor’s past and present school budget proposals, which fall short of what the school committee requested and resulted in a large number of staff losing their jobs. This is not acceptable for a city that prides itself on its schools.
We need a city council that will fight for our schools, and I have a proven track record of doing just that. I fought to secure millions of dollars more than our mayor was initially offering to schools. I did that in my first six months as a city councilor by building strong coalitions and leaving no stone unturned in researching our city's finances.
Through careful financial research and in consultation with state municipal finance experts, it has become clear that we have enough recurring revenue to fully fund our schools. The path forward is for the city council to use its legislative power to make the mayor put forward a budget that accurately forecasts our revenues and expenses, showing the real revenue that we bring in each year from your tax dollars. It is sensible to slightly underestimate our revenue to provide a cushion, but there is no justification for the degree to which the mayor is shortchanging schools right now.
With so much money in the city bank accounts, it would be irresponsible to continue stashing so much away each year without first making sure our schools and city services are adequately funded. Many candidates promise to help our schools, but I have an established record of fighting for our schools, and I always will.
One of my biggest projects during my first term has been making city government more transparent. I've succeeded in getting more financial information than ever posted to our city website, and I am very public about any barriers that I myself face in obtaining critical information that I believe the public is entitled to.
I firmly believe that elected officials should be taking the time to demystify the budget process and make things easier to understand so that you can consider the options about how we spend your tax dollars.
Finally, to further encourage the public, I keep more office hours by far for public engagement than any councilor, and I am available daily to listen, learn, and help. I also host weekly group sessions for Ward 3 residents to get to know each other and the city. I love working side by side with the community to bring your vision to life.
Some notable projects I have worked on in my first term include supporting climate initiatives with local farmers, overseeing fair elections for our largest public housing tenants union, developing anti-weapons manufacturing legislation, connecting trans rights activists with key legislators, beautifying the train station parkway to serve as a gateway to Ward 3 from all across the nation, centering neighborhood voices in planning and sustainability, and fighting for Medicare for All.
For me, every day is packed to the brim with work on citizen-led initiatives that I am proud to encourage and support so that we can achieve meaningful and lasting progress in Northampton. With such an incredible community to work with, there is nothing I would rather be doing than serving the public, understanding your problems, and working to find solutions for us all.
Stay tuned for updates on gatherings, and don't hesitate to join one of my weekly groups, drop in for office hours, or reach out by email or phone. I'm available seven days a week to hear from constituents and share new ideas, and I truly appreciate your civic participation!
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