Activist Toolkit

1. What motivates you to seek this office? What skills, experiences, and perspectives would you bring, and why would those contributions be valuable in the office you are seeking?

I am motivated by being a public servant and not a politician. I love giving back to the community, promoting thoughtful economic development, and keeping Broadview a desirable place to live. I have a Master's Degree in Training and Development from Roosevelt University in Chicago and a Bachelor's Degree in Organizational Management from Concordia University in River Forest. I have served in an executive leadership capacity for over 25 years. 

2. When in the past have you had to balance competing interests? What process did you use? What did you learn?  

The process I use is mediation and advise from my mentors. I have learned to not be in a rush for anything as timing always prevails.

3. What does transparency in government mean to you? How would you put it into practice? Do you believe the Village of Broadview operates in a transparent manner?

Transparency in government means holding public officials accountable. It also means fighting corruption. The Village of Broadview has been practicing transparency since 2017. We live stream all of our regular, special board meetings as well as the finance committee meetings. We also post these meetings on our Village website so that residents who were not able to see the live stream can view later/date. We maintain Village of Broadview social media pages that we share a gambit of information that residents find very enlightening. The Village of Broadview operates in transparency daily.

4. As more of our local discourse happens in social media, what is your view on how local elected officials should communicate with and respond to constituents? How will you engage with the breadth of the community, and not only those on social media?

Social media is an excellent platform that hosts good information as well as information that is not so good. I participate in conversation with constituents but I also re-direct the conversation to those that perform the day-to-day operations to chime in. I am not the expert on certain topics, however | will get the experts to address an issue, a concern or answer a question. It's important to me that we educate the community as much as possible and help them understand how we are governed with the policies that are established by the department heads and the Board of Trustees approve. We work hard on making sure we have community feedback by hosting community meetings and/or town hall meetings. This allows for the feedback.

5. What barriers do you see for community members who wish to engage with Broadview’s village government? How would you work to reduce or eliminate those barriers?  

As with anything the first step is to engage the community. We are very receptive to those that want to be involved in the Village's government. 

6. What do you feel are the three biggest issues facing Broadview, and how do you intend to address them? 

The biggest issues facing the Village of Broadview are: 

1. Fire and police pensions - This is not only a Village of Broadview issue but an issue for  many municipalities. Everything we do is compromise and we have to be upfront with those in these roles to understand the position of the Village. 

2. Capital Funding for Infrastructure - We have to continue to advocate for local government distributive fund (LGDF).

3. COVID-19 Vaccination - We are in this together. It's important that the community is vaccinated so that we can get back to some normalcy. I will continue to advocate on behalf of the constituents in Broadview until we have the majority vaccinated.

7. How do you define equity? Have recent events and discussions in the larger community informed or changed your thinking? 

Equity is being fair. Systemic racism exists and we can no longer not address the issues. The conversations are hard, but they must happen, and it starts with leadership.

8. How do you plan to solicit feedback from people who may be experiencing this community in a different way than you? What barriers do you believe may exist in this process?

I am open to feedback if it comes from a place of understanding, not judging; from one that is both open minded and respectful. One of the barriers is that there are those that misrepresent the truth. 

Others make up their minds on relationships rather than researching the truth or asking questions. 

9. Name an influential Broadview community member. How did this person’s influence change Broadview? As an elected official, what do you imagine your influence will be on the community?

 We have several influential community members in Broadview. They are our seniors; many have lived in the Village for over 40 years and have a wealth of knowledge of the Village of Broadview leadership from the past. They keep me grounded on my purpose to serve with integrity as well as pour wisdom into me on a regular basis. I can go to them for the TRUTH. As an elected official, I imagine my influence will be of transparency in government. As citizens of a democracy, it is not only our right to participate in our government, but also our responsibility.

10. What is your broad vision for the future of Broadview? How will you promote substantive discussion, build consensus among trustees, and rally public support for your vision?

My vision for Broadview is to be the Black/Brown community that is the most influential community in the State of Illinois. We build consensus among the Trustees by getting their input for longer term success of the Village and get the public to support that vision. When we encourage our residents that have home based businesses and we ask our neighbors to support them, this encourages one to recycle the dollars back into the community and one day they are successful enough have a brick and mortar.

11. How would you describe your management style? What processes and protections do you believe should be afforded employees who have voiced grievances?

My management style is servant-leadership. Process in place that protects the employees is have an employee handbook the employee should also be able to talk to leadership within their department. We also have a full time Village Administrator. Every situation is different but the employees of Broadview have a voice, where as in the previous administration that did not exist. 

12. What impact can a municipality such as Broadview have on climate change, and how will you prioritize that work among other issues?

The Village of Broadview will be launching its environmental sustainability plan on April 22, 2021.

13. What do you see as the most pressing issue relating to housing in Broadview? What policies would you advocate to address this issue? Do you consider support for affordable housing to be a core function of our village government? Why or why not?

 Housing is a part of economic development. We launched our housing plan on February 3, 2021. Affordable housing is housing that is deemed affordable to those with a median income or below. Having a safe place to call home, having a place to live where your children receive a good education and making sure that place is protected by the Village is core function for the health, safety of our community. 

14. In recent months there have been calls in many communities to defund the police or reimagine public safety. How do you define public safety? Do you begin from the premise that increased policing is the most effective response to increased crime, or would you propose other solutions?  

I am not a fan of defunding the police. However, I am all about police accountability. Public safety is the welfare and protection of the general public. I support community policing, workforce development/training that will allow for those to make an earnest living. When officers are engaged with the community the outcomes are different, when opportunities are available the outcomes are different. I am proud of the Broadview Police Department they do a really good job for Broadview. 

15. What do you believe has caused the recent swell in carjackings in the surrounding area? Do you see an appropriate law enforcement response to this situation?

Not enough job opportunities, lack of mental health services, no in school services for those that would typically be at school, lack of supervision by an adult in the home, the list goes on and on. I've seen messaging on car jackings on what to do as a public safety measurement. 

16. What is your development vision for Roosevelt Road? What form do you feel development should take there? How would you confront the parking situation?  

My development vision for Roosevelt Road is to get our community more engaged on what THEY would like to see for Roosevelt Road. I have heard more restaurants, to being able to walk or bike to location, to parking is an issue in the residential areas. My vision is have viable businesses on the corridor while supporting the businesses that are already there.

17. Do you believe there is room for a human-scale development approach in Broadview? Why or why not? 

Yes I do. The reason being is that it addresses fundamental human needs. It increases self-reliance and it's an interdependence balance of people with their environment. I serve and work for the people and I honor that.

18. How would you evaluate the success of Broadview’s plans for Covid-19 mitigation at the Village? Do you feel the Village has adequately protected its employees, and that there has been adequate transparency with respect to case tracking?  

We have done a very good job with our plans relating to COVID-19. We have initiated polices regarding COVID-19 that protects the employees and visitors of the Village. Yes, transparency has been communicated to our residents through our website, robo calls, email blast, and social media.

19. How do you believe the Covid-19 pandemic has affected Broadview’s Village finances, and what policies do you favor going forward as part of the recovery? 

We are still monitoring our financial health. COVID-19 has impacted operations as it relates to street and alley repairs that were supposed to take place in 2020. 

20. Do you believe the Village of Broadview is financially healthy? Do you feel the current Village budget is balanced? What is your approach to fiscal transparency? 

Define financially healthy in a time where we know COVID-19 impacts the budget, fire and police pensions, staff salaries and over time, healthcare benefits and debt service. The current budget is balanced with a surplus of about $200,000. Fiscal transparency is being accountable, telling the story of how we got to this point. I did not create the underfunding of the pensions but I have to address it. My approach is simple. Tell the story, be honest and respect the public's opinion if it's different from my level of understanding government financing. Government financing is different from corporate financing or non-profit financing. 

21. As an elected official, do you believe you have a responsibility to speak out about private labor practices? If so, how do you balance that responsibility with the tax benefits larger corporate operations may bring to the Broadview community? 

I have a responsibility to serve the people that put me in office.

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[The above answers were supplied on 2/24/21.]