Our Community

I am an eternal optimist in the residents and community of the Fairbanks North Star Borough. I believe in the power of our community and our potential. I grew up in the Borough and have lived and worked alongside you my entire life. I was raised with our neighborhood values of compassion, open mindedness, and hard work. I’ve spent my personal and professional life working to improve the lives of Alaskans and our community, so I know what it takes to find solutions to the challenges before us-- education, economic development, and quality of life for all our neighbors. 

That’s why I’ve been knocking on doors throughout this campaign - to listen to the concerns of everyone in this community. I’m running for Borough Mayor to ensure we have hard conversations about the issues that are important to us all, find solutions, and drive progress throughout the Borough.

Education

Investing in Schools 
As a proud product of our local schools, I know how amazing they can be. We love our schools, our teachers and all they do for our students. But we must
prioritize them if we want them to be the gold standard we know them to be. 

By creating new economic development, new construction and growing the economy, we can prioritize education funding in a sustainable way and within the current revenue cap formula. When military families, new residents, doctors and professors and hard working citizens think about moving to the Interior, they look at the quality of our schools if they want to raise their children here. As mayor, I will strive to support our schools so that local families and students are proud of our district and new residents see a bright future for their children and help our community grow. 

Affordable and Accessible Childcare 
Ensuring that everyone has access to affordable, high-quality child care is essential for attracting and retaining young families. By repurposing our closed schools, ensuring our public transportation is well managed and staffed, and we seek creative partnerships with businesses, the Borough can be a leader in helping the private sector grow and solve this critical problem facing so many young working families today.

Economic Development

Boosting Local Job Creation
Creating local jobs is essential for a thriving community. As your mayor, I will work to incentivize businesses to hire locally and support entrepreneurs, ensuring that our residents have access to meaningful employment right here in our Borough. I will work in partnership with contractors, developers and labor organizations to find creative solutions to drive new construction. When people see that our Borough is a place that is growing and thriving, new investment will follow creating a bright and thriving economy for years to come. 

Enhancing Infrastructure
Improving our infrastructure will be key to helping reverse our population decline. By investing in transportation, quality roads, and public facilities, we will make the Borough more attractive to businesses and residents, strengthening economic growth and stability. The Capital Improvement Plan is a creative and essential tool our Borough has and as Mayor I will make sure our public voice is heard so those dollars are spent wisely and effectively to enhance our entire community.

Quality of Life

Improving Public Safety
Safety and security is a top priority for many Interior residents. While the Borough does not have public safety powers, by partnering with the police and fire departments across the Borough, we can find ways to minimize areas that attract crime, and help provide services to reduce homelessness which will create safer neighborhoods. As Mayor, I will strive to create these partnerships, bringing stakeholders to the table to work together to solve a problem. Too often our different interests prevent us from finding creative and unified solutions. Together, we can solve any problem. 

Expanding Recreational Opportunities
Our thriving parks and recreation department does a wonderful job of highlighting and enhancing our Alaskan lifestyle. Our access to the outdoors is world class. I believe that through partnering with local organizations, we can expand these opportunities while keeping costs low. But while our winters are beautiful and fun, families also need indoor recreation and events. Our senior population has doubled over the last ten years, and continues to grow, and finding ways to support Alaskans in their golden years will be a top priority for the next mayor