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What is one life experience you have that voters should know about?
Several years ago, I learned that my husband was struggling with alcoholism and addiction. It opened my eyes to the challenges families face when trying to help their loved ones who are suffering from substance use. While my husband was willing and able to enter into treatment and is now sober, I know that many families have trouble finding treatment for their loved ones. I also learned how important it is for the entire family to seek treatment during this time. This experience led me to advocate for policies to make treatment more accessible, both for those struggling from substance use and their families. It’s also inspired my work with organizations around the city, like the Bridge Way School - the first high school in our city just for students struggling with substance use and mental health disorders. I was recently honored for my work to keep the school open during the COVID-19 pandemic, because I knew that the services the school provided were even more important during the stresses of lockdown. Now I'm running for office to help expand opportunities for other families who are struggling, whether with substance use or any of the other crises facing our city.
What would be your top three policy priorities in office?
I’m committed to addressing issues of safety, substance use and mental health care access, and improving the basic city services that people depend on each day. Everyone in Philly deserves to feel safe in their neighborhood. I plan to work with communities across the city to make that happen. I'll work to develop public safety plans written with community input. The goals, tactical approaches, and the progress made will be publicly accessible. This must be done in each Police District to ensure the plans address each neighborhood’s unique challenges. Too many families in Philadelphia have loved someone struggling with substance use or mental health disorders. We must do better to educate our communities on these issues and create easier pathways for assistance when help is needed - both for the individual struggling and their whole family. I’ve spent my career improving everyday city services. I’ll continue working to ensure our services - like public transportation, street cleaning, and trash collection - are efficient and easily accessed. If elected, I'll work with our city employees to ensure they have the resources they need to bring great services to every neighborhood.
What sets you apart from other candidates?
I have years of experience successfully fighting the barriers to change in city government. When people said it couldn’t be done, I did it anyway - and I did it because all Philadelphians deserve more. After moving to Philadelphia to further my studies in government administration, I worked as a Deputy Managing Director for Mayor Nutter and, more recently, as a Chief of Staff in City Council. I have a deep understanding of how city government can deliver better policies for everyone who lives, works, or is raising a family in Philadelphia. I have firsthand knowledge of the challenges that our City government is currently facing and the vision to find innovative policy solutions to those challenges. And I know what it’s like to build consensus and collaborate with other City Councilmembers and stakeholders to get things done.
How do you plan to work across ideological lines to achieve shared goals?
Just as diversity in our communities makes us stronger, so does diversity of thought. My goal is for Philadelphia to be the greatest city on earth and to do that we need a diverse set of ideas. On City Council, I’ll work with anyone who has ideas for how to address our challenges. As someone who’s running At-Large, I’ll be elected to represent our entire city - not just a single ward, neighborhood, district, or interest group. I’ll do everything I can to build strong relationships with my constituents. When I’m crafting legislation or evaluating our budget priorities, I will listen to the opinions of the communities who’ll be impacted by the decisions under consideration. This approach will help to cut through ideology in favor of advancing bills that will benefit Philadelphia’s diverse communities. Additionally, while our City Councilmembers have differences of opinion on the best approach to issues, most are typically aligned on the kind of results they want to see. In my experience, that has always been what resolves our differences. I’ll work tirelessly to craft policies that combine data, research, and thoughtfulness to bring progressive change to Philadelphia.
The Committee of Seventy has partnered with the Carter Center to promote the Candidate Principles for Trusted Elections to improve the voting process, encourage honest leadership, and promote civic engagement. Do you support the Candidate Principles?
Yes
