I’m running so residents can have a person on the City Council who will listen to them. Since getting my master’s degree in professional communication, I’m equipped to listen, research, and amplify the voices of our residents. We need more communication channels from the city and more outlets for the residents to express themselves. Coupled with the expert and legal voices, we can have a better discussion around what is affecting our city.

I feel that that plan was negotiated by our city council without seeking input from the public. I’m ok having a reasonable amount of townhomes in Clinton but I think the city should have explained better from the beginning of what was happening and the negotiations they were attempting. Also, the addition of several new townhomes would require expanded infrastructure to accommodate the sizable increase to our population. Not including interested residents in the process led to the petition.

Do you have any opinion on the townhome petition that was filed to put the development to a vote by citizens?

I think that it should be seen as a wake up call for local cities to include residents in understanding the process and listen to their concerns. It shows that residents can take action to put a local government in check. I’m grateful to live in a country that allows such events to happen.

One issue that I see is the city budget. While digging into the city budget for the past 10 years, I’ve seen some discrepancies between the budget, the CPA certified auditors, and the State Transparency website. My opinion is that these three sources of our city finances should align with the revenue and expenses in at least the general fund. I would like to push for a deep dive into the budget and other city expenses as well as establish a rotating auditor program. We should put a freeze on property tax increases until we understand what is happening with the money and make sure that all numbers are aligned.

Bringing in FatCats and other businesses is a great achievement. I’ve lived here for 11 years and have seen the old Macey’s vacant for a number of those years. Convincing Home Depot to come to Clinton is a great increase to our sales tax revenue. Adding more businesses, both large and small, will help our city in the future.

I think people are ready for more full service restaurants in our area. Traffic has become congested and is starting to take longer for residents to go out to eat. Since Clinton is the third densest city in Davis County, we should be able to convince businesses that the surrounding area population along with ours will put them in a prime real estate position.

One rumor that has spread is that we are not able to get liquor licences for a sit down restaurant. However, I have contacted the State about this rumor and found that they have plenty of those licences available. The State is also loosening the restrictions of the number of licences available.

I really want to dive into our budget deeper with not only the city manager, but also our current auditors and others who understand governmental spending laws. I want to also answer the question about cost of living adjustments for our city employees. How do we finance that into the future? All of this needs to be explained in layman terms for our residents to understand where their money is going when they pay taxes.

Communication is key. I think that the Newsletter sent out monthly is a good start but it needs to be expanded to include decisions that the city council is making. Expand our channels as well so it isn’t just social media that we are using but also looking at making short videos of meeting decisions. As a communication manager, I understand these concepts and want to bring that knowledge to the city.

Having the residents informed about what is happening at the city level and in a way they understand, this will increase citizen’s engagement. Having dates and future agenda plans will help inform residents so they can plan accordingly.

Besides what I described above, I think having an agenda set out a month prior to the discussion will be a main point of keeping residents up to date. It makes it easier to share that information in the various channels that they can read, listen, or see what those decisions are without having to wait until a city council meeting minutes are approved.

I think there are several citizens that have come to me about different things but the main one that I’d like to focus on is the small business ordinances. Having seen a small business attempting to start up in Clinton and getting different answers depending on the person they talk to at city hall needs to be addressed. Making it easier for businesses to start up in our city will help improve the economy and bring pride to the residents about using a local business owner. We shouldn’t be losing small business owners because our city ordinances are vague.

I think that the state legislature has helped Clinton grow in the past but I think that we need to have more local control over what happens in Clinton. We understand and know what is best for our community and do not need people in Salt Lake City telling us how to grow our city. Like I believe “your voice, our city.”

Coming from a family of law enforcement officers, I want to keep the city safe. Increasing the police force has been a great thing for our growing population. Continuing to match the growth of our city with the number of required law enforcement is needed.

People are wanting additional parks on the West side of Clinton. I would work hard to get additional parks to allow more fun spaces for kids to enjoy that are closer to their homes. I remember riding my bike to the local parks to go down slides and enjoy the monkey bars. Kids on the West side shouldn’t have to be taken to the East side of the city so they can play. Allow kids to play closer to home.

I believe in data-driven decision making while also including an open dialogue with residents to ensure that city ordinances and policy reflects the true needs of Clinton. As James Madison stated in the Federalist Papers “A good government implies two things: first, fidelity to the object of government, which is the happiness of the people; secondly, a knowledge of the means by which that object can be obtained.” That is why the things I will focus on are hearing your voices, keeping to our values, and presenting a vision of what Clinton can be. Making sure that the people of Clinton are happy to live in their city.