Questions from the October 8th Pittsburg Area Young Professionals City Commission Candidate Forum.  As with any good speech, I didn't totally follow this script when I answered these questions out-loud, but these are the answers I had prepared.

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• What do you consider to be the two most important matters for Pittsburg and why?

 

The most important consideration for Pittsburg moving forward is planning for sustainable growth, which necessarily includes reducing income inequality.  We need to be considering not just environmental best practices as we grow, but we need to make sure we are planning for diverse economic growth, and that we have a solid infrastructure plan in place.

 

But sustainable growth can’t happen when it leaves half its citizens behind.  Crawford County has one of the largest gaps in income inequality in the region, and that’s a real problem for Pittsburg.  We are getting better—in the last 6 years median wages have risen 14%, and 11% of low income families have moved up to the middle class.  But our poverty rate remains near 19%--that’s about 7% above the national average, with our highest populations in poverty being young people and older adults.  It’s a complex issue that involves education, healthcare, and hard work, but I believe in a Pittsburg where everyone who wants to can succeed. 

 

• Where do you see Pittsburg in two years? In five years? (i.e. What progress would you like to see?)

 

I want to see Pittsburg become more economically diverse, and at the heart of that be a self-sustaining marketplace that encourages diversity and entrepreneurship. We need to invest in our local economy in such a way as to let the citizens of Pittsburg be in the most control of their own futures and the future of our shared community.

 

In the last 6 years we’ve seen considerable growth in the local retail, entertainment, and hospitality economy, as well expansions at some of our nationally recognized manufacturers.  We need to continue doing targeted industry analysis and continue to support local entrepreneurs, who should remain at the heart of the Pittsburg community.

 

• What motivates you to offer your service to Pittsburg and its residents?

 

I want to bring the work that I’m already doing in the community and the values that I have to the government of the City of Pittsburg.  From my service on boards of local organizations like Women Helping Women and The Wesley House, to the investment I have made downtown by purchasing an old building, to the service-driven mission of my small business to make recycling easier in Southeast Kansas, I’m already doing the work to make Pittsburg a great place to live for ALL it’s citizens.

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The decisions we make on the City Commission effect everyone in our community, and I think it’s important to have leaders who are actively involved in making this community a better place, and who share the positive vision for the future that so many of us have.  I think I’m the right person to continue doing that work on the City Commission.

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​I was recently asked the following questions by a student at PHS.  She is on the Student Council and was assigned to interview an influential person in the community to find out why they "do what they do."  Here are her questions, and here are my answers.

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• Tell me a little bit about yourself.

These are always the hardest questions!  I grew up in Baxter Springs, KS.  I’m 35, married, I have 1 dog and 3 cats.  I own my own home as well as a downtown storefront.  My husband and I are the owner/operators of Pittsburg Recycles, LLC, and I am just venturing into a new business for myself—herb’n farms.  I have 3 degrees from PSU—BA English, MA English, MA Communication.  I went to the University of Arizona for 2 years to study political communication at the doctoral level—was quite successful with publications and conference presentations, but left the program because I became dissatisfied with academia.  So I got certified to teach yoga and Ben and I moved back to Pitt, and I’ve been trying to find my way ever since!  I like gardening, yoga, exercising, playing World of Warcraft, reading fiction, watching tv, and chilling with my tribe, just like everybody else.  I’m a proud feminist, hippie, and Progressive.

 

• What made you want to serve your local community?

When I first moved back to Pitt from Arizona I felt a bit lost in what I wanted to do, and unfamiliar with the community I’d left only 3 years before.  I made the decision after a while to dig myself into the soil of Pittsburg and use my skills and what I’d learned over the years to grow this into the kind of community people can be proud of, that people want to stay in, and that I wanted to stay in.  See, I believe in Pittsburg, and I can see the vision of how this community can honor its past by moving forward courageously into the future.  I want to be a part of that.  I didn’t initially run for office because I had some complaint, because I thought things should be so different, or because I wanted anything out of the office other than to be involved.  I decided to run, and to run again, because I believe I have the skills, abilities, and drive to take the momentum already started by so many people way more amazing and involved than me, and to run with that momentum and make the vision a reality.

 

• With being a commissioner, running for reelection, running a small business, and opening a new one, how do you find balance?

Yoga, meditation, exercise, plenty of video game time! I also really love to sleep and won’t let too much get in the way of that, lol.  I try to stay off Facebook as much as I can, but I’m not always that successful.  It is a lot of work, but it’s true that if you really care about what you are doing, then the result is totally worth all the hard work.  Confidence is key, too, I think.  I’ve never had a lot of self-doubt or reservation; if you know yourself and your limits, then balance becomes something you live, and not something you have to find.

 

• When did you decide that small business ownership for you?

I think it’s always been in the cards for me, honestly.  I was never pressured towards any career growing up.  My grandma said I should be a model, my grandpa said accountant, my dad told me to get a job I didn’t hate where I made enough money to do what I wanted on the weekends.  But ultimately, they all told me that the most important thing in life was to be happy and leave the world a better place.  I was in college for a long time and worked odd jobs or taught in grad school; when I got out I kept working odd jobs, teaching yoga, and adjuncting.  I guess I just never thought of putting all of my skills together into something called a “career.”  At this point in my life the very last thing that I want is to spend the next 30 years of my life working for less than I’m worth to make some corporate ceo and their shareholders even richer than they already are.  This is my absolute favorite thing about the next generation—I think you all get that in a way that none of us before really have.  The future is in micro-economies and local ownership, not globalism and corporate domination.  The more we can train young people to take control of their own lives and fates and start their own businesses, the better off we’ll all be.

 

• What local organizations are you a part of?

I’m on the Board of -- Women Helping Women: A Fairy Godmothers’ Fund & Wesley House

 

I’m a member of -- Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce, Pittsburg Area Young Professionals, SEK NOW (national organization of women), and I’m the treasurer of PD13 (progressive democrats of the 13th senate district). 

 

I volunteer occasionally and attend some meetings/events for the SEK Humane Society, Eat & Live Well Crawford County, Q Space, Crawford County Democrats, Sperry-Gallagher Audubon Society, and The Lord’s Diner.

 

I feel like there’s more…

 

• Both of your businesses are about educating people how to better care for the earth, have you always had a passion for saving mother earth?

YES!  I’ve always been a bit of a hippie child of nature—always loved gardening, getting dirty, collecting specimens of plants, bugs, bones, sticks, and shells.  I call myself a “hobby biologist” and probably would have excelled in the field if I’d committed myself to it.  I think climate change is the single biggest threat to our global society, and everyone in every profession or industry or field of study needs to be thinking about how what they are doing is helping or hurting that threat.  So it’s really just a perfect intersection of what I enjoy and what I see as important. 

 

• Final question, what's your why?

We are not living in times that give us the luxury of asking “Why;” it’s time for more people like you and me to ask Why not?

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I recently received a question from a constituent regarding the city hiring outside experts and consultants for projects, and why do we do this when it seems like a waste of money that could go to helping those less fortunate.  It's a great question! Here's my reply:

"...broadly speaking unless we understand the problems we face, we will never be able to work to solve them. That is the aim with hiring in expert consultants. Yes we spend money doing so, but I like to view that expenditure as an investment in the future of Pittsburg for all its citizens. Nobody's pockets are getting "lined," especially not mine. The alternative is to act--which in government always means spending money--without adequate information--like shooting in the dark--and risk wasting more time and money than if you'd just taken the time to fully understand a project before jumping in--or backing out.
My foremost concern is for the mid to low income (of which I am one) citizens of Pittsburg, and I do believe that all the studies we are currently engaged in with outside professionals (the electricity study, the Land Use Plan, etc.) will ultimately lead to projects that will end up benefiting these citizens the most."

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I was asked the following questions by the Pittsburg Morning Sun, published online 8/6/2019

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• Why did you decide to run for the position you’ve filed for?

 

I was first elected to serve the citizens of Pittsburg on the city commission in 2017, and I still have so much more to offer!  This community already has a vision of the heights to which we all can aspire; I have the ability to lead us all forward, together, towards that vision, and I have the experience of incumbency to make it work when we all get there.  If we care enough to continue moving forward together, we need city commissioners who are committed to a progressive vision for our shared future.

 

• What do you hope to achieve as an elected official or what will your priorities be if you are elected (or re-elected) to the position?

 

Pittsburg needs to focus on more long-term, sustainable solutions for multiple issues facing our community.  I will continue to use the community-guided Imagine Pittsburg (IP) 2030 plan to set priorities for improvement projects with an eye towards sustainability and making the best choices for our shared assets and spaces.  Electric rates for our community are not sustainable for current residents and businesses, and can make it difficult to recruit investors into the area, hindering economic development.  This is a problem that needs solving.  Sustainable housing solutions start with infill development, developing land within the city, and supporting the Land Bank initiative.  Environmental best practices should be observed across improvement projects to ensure that our infrastructure and cityscape promote a true progressive future towards alternative energy, green space preservation, and reducing waste outputs.