Pepper Pike residents voted in super majority to add sidewalks to the main thoroughfares of the city. The first set of sidewalks have been completed and greatly enhance the walkability and quality of life for residents. We must stay aggressive on the planning and execution of sidewalk construction to fully outfit the main thoroughfares. I will not let anything distract us from achieving our goal.

I voted NO on the charter review referendum. The City Charter most definitely needs updating, but not as presented on the referendum. There were too many large changes that would have greatly affected how the city is run, and the city is highly successful now with the current system of government in place. Two of my leadership adages are: "Don't fix what isn't broken" and "Reinforce success". The charter the council approved for the ballot went against both of those. Additionally, due to the council's rush to get the charter on the May ballot they did not properly debate, mark up, listen to residents, and debate some more before approving the charter. The council did not do their job. Some members were ready to approve the charter on the first reading. Other members completely deferred to the Charter Commission and accused those of wanting to slow the process of "disrespecting the charter commission members". The commission did the job asked of them and passed their recommendations to the council, who did not do their job. The residents agreed with me and the NO camp and voted NO in a super majority. If elected to council, I pledge to support a charter review, one that does not try to do too much or is rushed. No Ordinance will be voted on until properly vetted and debated!

Some residents think there is a communication problem with the city.  I'm not sure I agree with that assessment, but am willing to hear them out and offer solutions. I find the monthly Pepper Pike Post very well done and highly informative. The councils has established a Communications Committee to take on this issue but the Committee has yet to make any major recommendations. I can navigate the city's website fairly easily but do understand it may not be so easy for others. We also need to ensure the city is using the latest IT resources and need to get past relying on the good graces of Council Member Scott Newell to fix our A/V issues. We are currently relying on employees who are not communications/IT professionals to run those programs. Generally in government operations there are two ways to fix a problem: Policy Change or Resource Change (people, training or equipment). It may be time to look at adding a communications/IT professional to the staff to conduct and enhance these vital programs.

A request from a resident to install solar panels recently came before the Architectural Review Board (ARB). The ARB is in an awkward position as the city has no roof solar panel policy. Setting this policy is the job of the council, and the council has yet to take any action on roof solar panels. It is beyond time to take action; if elected to council I pledge to lead the charge in creating a roof solar panel policy as I have a great deal of experience creating and managing renewable energy policy.

When I started the process of running for council I asked the Police Chief about background check requirements I, surprisingly, found there was none. All our public safety professionals undergo a stringent background check prior to Final Job Offer. Additionally, our recently hired Finance Director had to undergo a lengthy and invasive background check. Shouldn't our elected officials be held to the same standards as the workforce they oversee?