THE ISSUES
INTENTIONAL GROWTH & PLANNING
To be a successful commission, we’ve got to work together to arrive at solutions for everyone – a rising tide lifts all boats.
As a community, I think we could do a better job navigating intentional growth in the right way, and this is an important role of the Hamilton County Commission. We need to consider not only the structures on properties but the infrastructure around it. We need to be updating our plans constantly to effectively address wastewater needs, roads, facilities, new neighborhoods and government services including police and fire protection.
When planning neighborhoods and the infrastructure around them, we need someone who can make decisions that are right for the community. Intentional growth means that some projects won’t be right at that moment in time, and we need someone who can be decisive about it. The Hamilton County budget is headed toward a billion dollars in the next cycle, and as a commissioner I’ll be ready to rise to that challenge.
I’ll work with my fellow commissioners to address issues and collaborate with our state and national elected officials and agencies to secure additional state and federal funding. To be a successful commission, we’ve got to work together to arrive at solutions for everyone – a rising tide lifts all boats.
SCHOOLS
As a commissioner, I would bring people together – including you in the district – so that we are strategic about gaining resources and responsible growth of Hamilton County Schools.
In my role at Walmart, I’m responsible for thousands of associates. In the hiring process, one of the first questions that comes up is always on education. Our schools are overpopulated, and we're not thinking about the needs of our teachers and students as we continue to grow. Instead of short-term fixes, we need to look at building structures that work in the long run. We need to increase teacher pay. We need to apply intentional planning with the facilities, especially when it comes to technology. It’s changing rapidly, and aging buildings and infrastructure are lagging behind. As a commissioner, I would bring people together – including you in the district – so that we are strategic about gaining resources and responsible growth of Hamilton County Schools.
Our role in the education budget is one of the most important aspects in serving on the commission. With your help we can do this together. Our kids are our future.
JOB CREATION
I’ll help create opportunities for those graduating students and for workers who are underpaid.
Many of our young adults are not suited for the conventional four-year college experience and consequently there is a significant dropout rate.
While vocational training has been taken out of most high schools, I will do everything I can to increase the opportunities for those students, starting with middle school. I will work closely with Chattanooga State and the training programs already offered by area manufacturers and other companies.
The state of Tennessee offers much of the tech and vocation needs for free, and there are jobs available right now. This includes not only manufacturing but also IT, carpentry, engineering, healthcare, criminal justice, culinary arts, logistics and robotics among many others. A student can earn a degree or a certificate in two years for free, graduate with no debt and go right into the workforce earning a substantial wage and great benefits.
For those that choose the more conventional four-year experience, I will work with the city, county, state and federal elected officials and organizations in the region to recruit new companies or help existing companies expand. I’ll help create opportunities for those graduating students and for workers who are underpaid.
PUBLIC SAFETY
As your commissioner, I will be committed from day one to strengthening the resources to do whatever I can with our other commissioners to give first responders the tools to make our district and neighborhoods safe and secure.
Over the last 16 years, I have been an auxiliary officer for the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department. We’re citizens who volunteer our time performing public safety duties for the community such as traffic control, security at large events and many other activities. I’ve given 6,000 hours to Hamilton County as a reserve deputy to help support the department. I have ridden many miles throughout the county with other officers. I have seen first-hand the tremendous stress and challenges the law enforcement, firefighters and all the first responders have to face day in and day out. These men and women are true heroes in our community.
As your commissioner, I will be committed from day one to strengthening the resources to do whatever I can with our other commissioners to give first responders the tools to make our district and neighborhoods safe and secure.
I would also evaluate how we can improve fire protection, which is almost entirely volunteer-based in the county. We’re sending people to paid training classes and then losing them to neighboring agencies that can pay them. It impacts the safety of our community when there are medical and fire calls that first responders are struggling to get to. They’re volunteering to put their life on the line and taking on life threatening risks to serve our district and Hamilton County.
As a commission, we have to find a way to pay our officers more so we can be competitive with other counties and other states. We have to provide the incentives to do more effective recruiting. We need to come together – that includes all of you in my district – to create solutions that work for everyone.