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Public Safety

As your City Councilor I will:

  • Advocate to make sure our city budget for public safety is in alignment with the needs of a city our size

  • Reduce turnover and attrition by ensuring our CSPD and 911 Call Centers are well compensated and receive benefits that reduce burnout and early retirements

  • Keep our officers safe by expanding use of force and de-escalation trainings

  • Continue investment in new technologies that broaden CSPD’s ability to reduce street racing and reckless driving

As a man with a young family, the safety of our neighborhoods is a top priority. Ensuring the safety of our families is a primary responsibility of our city government and I am a strong supporter of our Colorado Springs Police and Fire Department.

 

As I talk to District 3 families, it’s clear that our residents are not only worried about violent crime and property theft, but are also concerned about our rising response times and traffic enforcement.

 

The root cause of these issues can be traced back to staffing levels in our police, fire, and 911 Call Center. As your City Councilor, it will be my top priority to ensure that we are fully staffed and resourced across the board, so our families can count on an immediate response when in a time of need.

We are blessed to live in the most beautiful neighborhoods in the country. However, with that beauty also comes the vulnerabilities of living in one of the largest wildland-urban interfaces (WUIs) in the entire country. The threat of wildfires and other natural disasters is a continuous presence in the minds of many of our District 3 families.

 

While the city has taken good steps, such as the $20 million in dedicated funding for fire abatement programs, there is still much more to be done to ensure we are preventing the next fire before it starts while having strong plans in place in case of disaster.

Wildfire Protection

As your City Councilor I will:

  • Expand and accelerate fuel reduction efforts, including increasing neighborhood chipping availability.

  • Improve local funding for fire mitigation efforts while leveraging state and federal dollars that support such programs

  • Work with the Colorado Spring Fire Department and other stakeholders to ensure evacuation planning is well researched with evacuation plans our neighborhoods understand and trust

  • Collaborate with our military installations and other regional municipalities to deepen mutual aid agreements in the region

  • Explore expanding use of new technology such as satellite and tower surveillance to predict where fires may occur and to ensure early warning when fires do start

Parks, Trails, and Open spaces

As your City Councilor I will:

 

  • Leverage public/private partnerships and funding from stormwater programs and environmental restoration programs to support greenway and park projects.

  • Prioritize the development of our city’s pocket parks that already exist in our neighborhoods

  • Protect our current trails, open spaces, and parks from encroachment by development

  • Ensure our parks are safe, welcome, and accessible for our families and kids

Our trails, open spaces, and parks are a crown jewel of our city. They are where many of us go to escape, where our kids grow and play, and adds to the character of our communities. The natural beauty of our city is a draw for many of us and the opportunity to have easy access to these amenities right in our back yard is why we love our neighborhoods.

Colorado Springs continues to be rated as one of the best places to live, work, and raise a family. These accolades are a testament to the people who call Colorado Springs home and have created the family friendly environment we enjoy.

 

However, with our success and national attention comes the challenges associated with growth. For many, it feels like our city is changing too quickly and residents don’t have enough say in what’s happening to our neighborhoods.

 

I strongly believe we can balance the needs of a growing city while protecting our quality of life, safety, and maintaining the character of our neighborhoods.

Responsible Growth

As your City Councilor I will:

 

  • Ensure residents and neighborhoods have a strong voice in the decisions that impact their neighborhoods

  • Protect our neighborhoods from overdevelopment (especially in our fire vulnerable neighborhoods), while ensuring new housing is prioritized in parts of the city that can handle more families

  • Advocate for our first responders by ensuring new growth doesn’t overly burden our police and fire departments

  • Conserve our wildspaces by fighting to make sure new development doesn’t overly harm our regions natural spaces, riparian habitats, and streams and creeks.

Cost of Living

As your city councilor I will:

 

  • Fight for smart diversification of our CSU energy portfolio to ensure we have reliable and affordable energy

  • Advocate for strong fiscal responsibility and ensuring the city is a good steward of our tax dollars

  • Promote responsible growth that allows families to find housing that fits their budget and needs

We all feel the strain of our city’s rising cost of living. For many this is rising prices of rent and mortgages, increasing utilities costs, and the cost of groceries. Colorado Springs has historically enjoyed the reputation of being a family-friendly city. However, that reputation is put at risk when so many families in our community are struggling to make ends meet.

 

As a family with a school aged kid, my family fully understands the challenges facing many families in Colorado Springs. Our city council needs strong advocates for our families who deeply understand the challenges facing residents as costs rise.

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