Between July 2018-September 2020, the City did not post Council and Commission meeting materials online prior to public meetings, preventing citizens from making informed comments and depriving city leadership of informed public feedback. All City bodies should post available meeting materials online one week prior to public meetings so that the public may make informed comments. Other City bodies besides the City Council should be broadcast and streamed online, a service that can be funded by noncommercial station sponsorship and franchise fees. In October 2020, the City resumed posting meeting materials online, and if I am elected I will fight to ensure this lapse in transparency never occurs again.

The Hub of Northeast Oregon should be the best town in the region to do business. The City should convene a Business Advisory Commission with representatives from business and labor to reexamine all existing policies that may inhibit commerce. Within a year, this Commission should submit a list of City policies to the City Council that can be repealed or modified to make La Grande the best town in Oregon to do business.

The City's current snow removal policy is to only begin plowing the roads when 6 inches have already fallen. This includes the entire City, even emergency routes necessary for public safety. The Snow Removal Policy should be updated to plow the roads when 4 inches have fallen, and arterial and emergency routes when 2 inches have fallen. As funding allows, the City should attempt to plow additional amount of snowfall throughout the year.

Drug addiction is a crisis in our community, and the City must treat it like a public health issue while fighting against the criminal trafficking of illegal substances. The City should promote the availability of drug abuse treatment options to aid in the recovery process for addicts. LGPD needs a strong mandate from the Council to combat drug trafficking. Finally, the City should convene a Police Advisory Commission that focuses on building relationships between LGPD and the community. People at risk of addiction or victimhood should be on good terms police officers they have gotten to know personally before their lives are endangered.

Many La Grande streets are in need of repair, and the quality of our roads only decreases when snow and ice fill them. A better snow plow removal policy will serve as preventative maintenance. Additional funding should be researched to repair existing road damages, with a public document online detailing the long-term planning schedule for repair. The City should also expand streetscaping throughout the community to add additional lighting, benches, and trash cans.

La Grande and other rural communities have struggled since the collapse of the timber industry. Our community can provide a premiere living destination for the next generation of 21st Century tech jobs, including programming, web development, network management, and other remote jobs enabled by the Internet. The City needs to promote expanded access to broadband beyond 88% of households, and improve quality of life with improved winter weather management, infrastructure, and family support.

Responsible property owners should easily be able to make improvements to their homes and land without excessive barriers. The City should convene a Property Rights Commission to address existing barriers to property improvements and make recommendations to the Council about repealing or modifying City policies that impede common sense property management.

In order to retain high-wage workers and attract new family-wage jobs, La Grande must become a better community for families. The City should promote the establishment of a nonprofit family education center, partnering with existing education centers like OMSI to ensure that families with children have year-round opportunities for healthy recreation. Partnerships with Eastern Oregon University should be leveraged to connect the college’s students, faculty, and staff with families in our community. La Grande should also invest in a community recreation facility to provide additional fitness opportunities during winter.

La Grande has a shortage of housing, especially affordable units. The City must promote the construction of additional housing units wherever possible for families with a variety of income ranges.

La Grande needs to diversify municipal revenue sources, leveraging municipal assets to meet additional funding gaps. The City should hire a full-time grant writer to seek out additional project and operating funding.