ISSUES
Bolster Opportunities for Children and Their Families
As the mother of four young children, my highest priority is to give every child the opportunity to grow and thrive. The future of our city depends on our children. They will be the ones who benefit from the decisions we make today, build upon our successes and address our failures.
I understand firsthand the struggles families are facing during this COVID-19 pandemic. Adjusting to distance learning, a lack of childcare, the fear of losing a paycheck and being evicted are weighing heavy. I am a steadfast advocate for creating programs to help parents through this time and enable our students to come through this stronger than ever. I am a proud to partner with Washington Unified School District to ensure our students are able to learn and thrive in this difficult time.
I have been a vociferous champion of our West Sac Home Run program which assures every child in our city receives high quality preschool, free community college tuition and a college savings account. I am also committed to promoting summer and after school programs to ensure our students are getting adequate enrichment programs when they are not in school.
Keep Our Community Safe
We are experiencing a historic level of passionate public discourse across our Country between law enforcement and communities of color. As a Deputy District Attorney for over 15 years, the wife of a front-line officer and the mother of minority children, I understand there are difficult conversations our community must have. Many of our neighbors are hurting, scared and angry, fighting for changes to create a more just world.
I am proud that our West Sacramento Police Department was the first department in the region to shift efforts to a mental health and crisis intervention-first model in policing.
In my tenure as Councilmember, I’ve actively supported officers’ efforts to strengthen relationships between law enforcement and the community and I will continue to ensure our city provides adequate funding for proactive community policing initiatives.
Expand Solutions for Our City's Homeless
In West Sacramento, we thrive on our unity. We have a proud history of banding together to solve problems and move our city forward. However, we still have significant work to do to ensure our homeless population does not fall by the wayside.
Growing up, there were times when my mother struggled to make ends meet and the decision had to be made whether to make rent or put food on the table. No family should have to make this choice and nobody living on our streets, who wants to improve their lives and stand on their own two feet, should be denied the opportunity to do so.
One of my proudest accomplishments as Councilmember was to bring the Downtown Streets Team to the cities of West Sacramento and Sacramento. DST has been one of West Sacramento’s most popular programs to address homelessness. By giving our homeless neighbors the opportunity to engage in community beautification efforts, including cleaning up homeless encampments, in exchange for stipends for living food and living expenses, many of our DST crew members have successfully exited their experience with homelessness.
Over a dozen West Sacramentans have found sustainable employment and permanent housing since we launched the pilot program in 2018. Every conversation I have with our DST Team Members leaves me hopeful for the future and proud of the work they are doing to keep our community beautiful.
Programs like Projects Roomkey and Homekey, when coupled with our incoming Permanent Supportive Housing development, can help us reduce the incidences and impacts of homelessness in our city. West Sacramento has worked diligently to seek out grants and matching federal dollars to make the most out of our general fund. The financial resources are there and it is up to us to properly allocate it to make the biggest impact. I have been a champion in this space and look forward to continuing our progress as we move forward together.
Promote Smart Growth and Support Small Businesses
The COVID-19 pandemic has put incredible strain on our small businesses. Just as our community was bouncing back from the Great Recession, this pandemic has forced businesses to adjust to a new normal, shift their business models and make difficult financial decisions.
Businesses are the backbone of our City and it is inherent on us as residents to support them, and critical for our city government to provide programs to support them through this challenging time. By working together, we can help our businesses get through this, and strengthen and diversify our local economy to withstand future interruptions.
Adequate, affordable housing is a necessity and our city has done an incredible job maximizing funding sources to create additional housing in West Sacramento. We must keep that momentum going and do our part to address the housing crisis plaguing our state. I continue to support smart growth, while supporting the men and women in the trades that make that development happen.