It has been an honor to serve you on the county commission. During this time, I worked diligently with my colleagues in Kalamazoo County government through the global health pandemic and the challenging circumstances we have faced as a result. I’m proud of the work I’ve been able to accomplish by working together.
Fighting for Equity.
In my first term, I was integral to conducting an inclusive process to hire a new Administrator and a new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Director. I served on the relevant recruitment subcommittees to ensure the best candidates were selected for these important positions. I helped to seat the first external DEI committee, increased opportunity for minority owned businesses to be involved with county contracts, and supported making doulas and gender affirming care available to more residents through community partners. I chair the appointments committee and have headed a process to improve recruiting highly qualified candidates from diverse communities to serve on our many advisory boards as to improve public policy across county government. In this role I am working to seat the Open Data Citizen Oversight and Advisory Committee to improve the accessibility of data to inform improvement to our local criminal justice system.
Standing Strong for Public Health.
Public health officials, not politicians guided the decisions to address the global health emergency in this community. No matter how loud or threatening a minority of the community got, I stood firm and supported our public health professionals to do the work we trust them to do to protect the most vulnerable. The health and welfare of this community was more important than politics. I continue as board liaison for the Environmental Health Advisory Committee continuing the work of public health county wide.
Increasing Affordable Housing.
I serve on the Board of Directors for the Continuum of Care working to tackle homelessness with regional partners. I continue to serve on the Kalamazoo Metropolitan County Planning Commission and the Housing subcommittee of the Kalamazoo County Commission. I worked tirelessly to ensure the effective initial implementation of the Homes for All millage. I was able to help expand over 600 additional units of housing - including focused housing for seniors, people in drug recovery, people who survived domestic violence and human trafficking, and more. I ensured $600,000 in resources were allocated for struggling homeowners in Kalamazoo Township to fund critical home repairs to strengthen our neighborhoods.
Delivering for workers.
I brought forth the motion to ensure that our yet unrewarded essential workers received their initial $1,000 in long overdue hero pay. I worked to ensure an allocation of up to an additional $7,500 for our essential employees for their dedicated service during the pandemic. I helped to bring most of our employees to $15/hr. or more and ensured a wage-study is in process, with a strategic plan to bring all employees to $15/hr. or more as soon as possible. I prioritized hiring local, union contractors on our recent projects, such as the new $90,000,000 Kalamazoo County Downtown Justice Center.
Improving the functioning of county government.
In my service, we’ve delivered balanced budgets on time that demonstrate our priorities. We made investments to improve operations such as extensive technology upgrades across the organization for security and efficiency. We increased staffing to the county clerk’s office to improve service. We have engaged in a transparent, strategic planning process. I remain committed to striving for excellence in service to this community across all county departments and programs.