I am running for Mayor because I love Columbia. As one of the fastest growing cities in Missouri, one that attracts new businesses and talent every year, it’s obvious that people want to be here. With forward-thinking leadership and a vision for where we should go, Columbia can be the Future City of Missouri. We need a Mayor and City Council that will lead us there.
We will miss this opportunity if we don’t have the right leaders. We need experienced leadership that looks at where Columbia needs to be in the future and works with community partners to get there. In my 11 years with the City of Columbia, I was tasked with developing new and innovative programs that pushed us to think about the future. That meant asking people from across Columbia – individual citizens, business owners, directors of not-for-profits, board members, and city staff – to lend their ideas for how we move our city forward.
Our community’s commitment to arts and culture, education, sustainability, and natural resources makes Columbia an incredible place to live and work. We can build on this strong foundation by taking a proactive approach to infrastructure, investing in systems that are resilient to climate change, and addressing inequity, ensuring that we have a City that working for all of us, now and in to the future.
If we are going to achieve these things, we need a leader who knows how City government operates, and who has a proven record of public service. The partnerships I’ve built over the last decade of work and the relationships I’ve developed over the last 20 years of living in Columbia situate me to be the leader that will take Columbia into the future.