Activist Toolkit

1. What motivates you to seek this office?

I want to live in a village that honors individuals that served in the armed forces, that are good stewards over finances and will create policies to help people maintain their sobriety now that recreational marijuana is legal. I am the child of a veteran and substance abuser. I have a MBA in Finance and I am also a Software Engineer. I understand triggers and how they impact those who are brave enough to admit they have a problem. I also understand the impact on their loved ones. I am objective and understand what questions to ask and how to create solutions. 

What skills, experiences, and perspectives would you bring, and why would those contributions be valuable in the office you are seeking?

 I am the child of  a veteran and substance abuser. I have a MBA in Finance and I am also a Software Engineer. I  understand triggers and how they impact those who are brave enough to admit they have a problem. I  also understand the impact on their love ones. I am objective and understand what questions to ask and  how to create solutions. 

2. When in the past have you had to balance competing interests?

When the Marijuana Legislation was introduce, I met with Rep Welch to express my concerns about it and other issues related to alcohol. He and I did not agree on everything but was able to work together and do what was in the interest of the township and Broadview.

What process did you use?

Listening with the intent to understand vs respond.

What did you learn?  

To be persistent, follow my convictions and speak up

3. What does transparency in government mean to you?

Provide me with the data and questions in the format requested so that I can form my own conclusions.

How would you put it into practice?

Ask questions in writing and/or video and follow up non-stop if required.

Do you believe the Village of Broadview operates in a transparent manner?

Absolutely not

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?

Live Stream and Record Board Meetings. I think gov’t should continue to solicit questions from the public as done today. Technology and Social Media is not to replace in-person human interaction. Things can be easily misinterpreted and manipulated.

How will you engage with the breadth of the community, and not only those on social media?

I will continue to use You-Tube, attend each board meeting and make myself available at the  request of the public as needed. 

5. What barriers do you see for community members who wish to engage with Broadview’s village government?

As of now I do believe the village does a good job at disseminating information and engaging with the public. The only barrier may be related to personality differences when interacting with each other, motives, and character.

How would you work to reduce or eliminate those barriers?  

Learning to be objective and unfortunately you can’t learn to have integrity. That comes from the heart

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

Financial Health, Lack of Culture and Policies that influence how our local entities work with each other. 

1. Financial Health: Align to a financial vision established by the entire board and measure performance using specific deliverables and metrics over time 

2. Lack of Culture: 
   BroadviewBeWell 
   I want to host an annual event titled “BroadviewBeWell” its goal will be to encourage strong families, strengthen those who have made a decision to walk in sobriety; strengthen the families that are coping with loved ones that are addicted to any substance; and eliminate denial/ignorance. 

3. Policies: 
   All business are to find a way to honor those who served in the armed forces 
   Create Cross Functional Committees among local entities to form mutualistic relationships (I wonder if we can eliminate charging each other fees for services that benefit all of us) 
   Create polices that will influence how business that sell addictive substances govern themselves 

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

The definition of equity is dependent on the context it is used. I will need a more specific question. 

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

I think email is a good tool to use for this and being present at the boardmeetings. Also considering the “new normal”, Video Conferencing vs in person sit-downs

What barriers do you believe may exist in this process?

People’s individual lives, schedule conflicts may cause  issues.

9. Name an influential Broadview community member. How did this person’s influence change Broadview?

I cant answer this question.

As an elected official, what do you imagine your influence will be on the community?

I hope to inspire respect for those who served in the armed forces; encourage sobriety and decrease the interest in addictive substances such as alcohol and marijuana. As an elected official I hope my influence will result in the increase the value of our land and expansion of our borders. My vision is that Broadview will be viewed as fertile ground to get started and continue to flourish.

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

Embracing Climate change calls for a shift in culture and our economy. We can have a huge impact on climate change in the following ways: 

Water Use 
Resources Utilization 
People Mgmt 
Our land and how it is used

If re-elected I will address this by creating new policies and working with the Mayor to administer them. 

Take a look at a video I did related to this very question and Broadview. 

11. What do you see as the most pressing issue relating to housing in Broadview?

2 things: 1) The people who live in our community want to build or enhance their homes must pay a lot in permit fees. This works against the notion of “increasing our property value”. 2) The land being used for the Sr Housing and Veteran Development was given away in a Landlord/Tenant Arrangement. The developer intended to pay for the land and the village should not be in the business of functioning as a landlord. I see issues with this arrangement not to mention it is an unbelievably bad business deal.

What policies would you advocate to address this issue?

The committees for Bldg and Public Property will have to create legislation and policy to enforce objectivity and a well governed establishment that will add to the value and reputation of the community. 

Do you consider support for affordable housing to be a core function of our village government? Why or why not?

I may be misinterpreting the question. I understand the question to be as follows. Should the Broadview Village Gov’t function as a landlord for Affordable Housing? If this is the question I don’t think so. Broadview should not function as a Landlord. I am convinced Politicians will take advantage of this relationship. It is not a good use of our resources. It creates a messy relationship. 

12. In recent months there have been calls in many communities to defund the police or reimagine public safety. How do you define public safety?

Public safety is the constant evaluation of criminal, illegal, wrong and dangerous activities that have a potential to hinder the peace in a defined area.

Do you begin from the premise that increased policing is the most effective response to increased crime, or would you propose other solutions?  

I don’t agree with the idea that increased policing is the correct response to increased crime. The solution I think should be administered involves a committee that consistently evaluates trends within the community and determine a custom solution that may involve programs, adjustments in policing, additional officers. Who knows what’s needed until the facts are evaluated and a team of people with the proper skills and motivation are involved? What I do know it is not a one size fits all. 

13. 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?

I believe the carjackings are a direct result of desperation related to COVID-19 and lack of police patrol/vigilance. 

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

Roosevelt Road is a state highway, considering this fact it may be in our best interest to capitalize off the excessive amounts of traffic that use this road. I envision Roosevelt Road being the idea location to shop and spend money for non-broadview residents. 

Parking needs to be created. It requires systems- thinkers vs politicians to derive a custom solution in a small area that will meet the needs of the business while considering the residents. 

I think the parking can be solved for using 2 trains of thought: 

Consider -Off Street Parking with the businesses and create a policy that is mutualistic among the business and the consumer. 

Consider-On Street Metered parking. This will create balance and with the right logic and policy revenue can be generated that will fund public services. 

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

If Human Scale Development is defined as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs then I believe the scope of work required to accomplish this is unreasonable for our village. I believe Broadview can contribute on a small scale, hence the event and my passion related to Veterans and providing tools to aid in sobriety. However, the over-all goal of self-actualization I believe is a person’s responsibility and ultimately requires God. 

16. How would you evaluate the success of Broadview’s plans for Covid-19 mitigation at the Village?

The village kept the residents informed. I don’t see any issues with Broadview’s mitigation Plan for Covid-19. 

Do you feel the Village has adequately protected its employees, and that there has been adequate transparency with respect to case tracking?  

Yes.

17. 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? 

Unfortunately, I cannot account for any direct COVID-19 expenses. Nothing has been presented via financial statements or reports. I have only seen/heard stats, information and instructions communicated via email, boardmeetings and phone. I do know that Broadview realized a grant related to COVID-19 and these funds were used to negate a negative balance in the 2021 budget. Without it, our village would be operating with a negative balance. 

18. 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? 

No. It is important to communicate negative and positive trends related to spending specifically. Cost/Benefit Analyses are important and should be provided for vendors such as Lobbyist. Budget vs Actual Statements should be provided versus amending the budget. The Finance Team and committee should define the key performance measurements that will equal village financial health to be evaluated on a tbd cadence. 

19. 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? 

No.

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