Issues
RESPONSIBLE SPENDING AND TRANSPARENCY
I'm committed to careful, responsible spending. I want to see more government transparency and accountability. We can see by looking at the the City Hall- or as I call it, theTaj Mahal- where past government priorities lie. The only other thing that the money spent on the city hall could have gone to pay for was our Firefighters salaries. Presently, we have a $50 million dollar city hall ( the second most expensive in the county), massive bond debt and the lowest paid Firefighters in the county. When I am elected I will make sure that all-American common sense dominates city politics.
As an average person, I find the city website nearly impossible to navigate. The city should have a clear, easy to read database that shows the citizens what the city's revenue looks like and what our taxes are being spent on. By utilizing current technologies, participating in local government and making your voice heard should be much easier than it currently is. By offering live streaming and online interaction at city council meetings citizens wouldn't have to speak publicly or sit through three hour meetings in order to make their point.
CHILDREN AND PUBLIC SAFETY
As a mother of 3 children the very first thing that I ask before making any decision is: How will this affect the kids? When I am elected to city council children will have a representative that always puts them first and parents will always have a council member that will listen to their needs.
Our Firefighters are the lowest paid in the county. This is unacceptable. With the recent fires still fresh in our minds, I think that we can all agree that taking care of our local heroes is a top priority. I want to be sure that we can offer competive salaries so that our fire and police have the staff that they need in order to serve the community. I support unions and collective bargaining.
JOBS
One way we can increase job opportunities in our community is by incentivizing and rewarding Green Job creators. I support and encourage the pursuit of renewable, environmentally friendly solutions and innovations, including the promotion of Green Jobs. The Solar Industry is booming, creating jobs at a rate ten times higher than employment growth in the overall economy. A safe and clean environment for our future generations is one of my top priorities. As the solar industry grows, so does its impact on the economy. And I believe that Vista,with 258 days of sunshine a year, should be a leader in local green jobs.
"According to The Solar Foundation's Solar Job Census 2013, there are nearly 143,000 solar workers in the U.S., a nearly 20 percent increase over employment totals in 2012. These workers are employed at 6,100 businesses operating at over 7,800 locations in every state. The increasing value of solar installations has injected life into the U.S. economy as well. In 2013, solar electric installations were valued at $13.7 billion, compared to $11.5 billion in 2012 and $8.6 billion in 2011."
*http://www.seia.org/research-resources/solar-industry-data
TRANSPORTATION
I am committed to working to ensure a more affordable, more accessible, more streamlined public transportation system. I support the current efforts to make Vista a more bike friendly environment. Not only will it remove cars from the road and ease traffic congestion, but it will improve air quality. I support adding a recreational bike skills park to our city as well.
WATER
Water is life and I take our current drought very seriously. I am committed to the conservation and preservation of our water. I support the use of native and drought tolerent plants. I would like to incentivize home owners and communities to switch to drought tolerent and native plants. I want to push to remove the fluoridation from our water supply.
*See the Harvard study on the effects of flouride on children's health: http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1104912/
ENERGY
I will encourage renewable and sustainable energy options such as wind and solar, thereby creating local jobs. I will also encourage divestment from dirty energy such as coal and nuclear. I will pursue the development of CCA's ( Consumer Choice Aggregates: citizen owned renewable energy cooperatives) and emmulate models that have proved effective (Germany, Sonoma County, San Francisco etc.)
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Choice_Aggregation
* http://thesolarfoundation.org/research/national-solar-jobs-census-2013
AGRICULTURE
Local farms are an important part of our community. I support and encourage local farms, urban farms, organic farming and hydroponic farming. I believe that local is best, it keeps jobs within the community and it reduces costs and our carbon footprint.
COMMUNITY
Pool/ splash pads. I would love to see either A. an affordable community swimming pool (or two, or three) and/or for the swimming pools at the local schools to be opened up for recreational use over the summer. I would like to see some splash pads installed at local parks (it gets hot here!) I would also like to see the Wave Waterpark hours extended into September and October ( traditionally our hottest months) I want to continue to enhance our community by showing some attention to areas in Vista that have yet to see any redevelopment. I want to encourage the city to stop spraying harmful herbicides on parks where our children play, and I want to notify homeowners when herbicides are sprayed on public properties near to their homes.
I want to see some of our community centers that have been shut down re-opened. A large section of Vista has been neglected and forgotten and I intend to make sure that those communities also recieve their fair share.
SCHOOLS
Even though city council has no direct authority ver our school district, I believe that it is possible for us to work together to find solutions to problems. I believe that we can support students by supporting teachers. Teachers are overworked and underpaid. This should be a priority; they are training our future leaders and caretakers. I would like the city of Vista and the Vista Unified School District to work together to make sure that our schools are safe environments for our children by: A. Making sure that the location is up to par with EPA guidelines, and enforcing those guidelines. B. Removing GMO's from school lunches and promoting organic, healthy choices C. Helping the schools to become more eco friendly by renovating existing structures to become more energy efficient D. Halting the use of herbicides on campuses and making the Integrated Pest Management systems advised by the EPA mandatory.
I also want to see the VUSD take more responsibility for the regulation of it's charter schools, it is important to me that all students have an equal opportunity to attend charters of their choice without restrictions or safety issues.
LIBRARIES
I am committed to the preservation and expansion of our library. Libraries are incredibly important to the community.
EMPTY LOTS AND OPEN SPACES
I want to work to preserve natural spaces and trails for residents to enjoy, possibly turning empty or neglected lots into "food forests", natural parks with native plants and trees or community garden areas. More trees will provide shade and remediate evaporation from irrigation systems.
*http://www.beaconfoodforest.org
BUILDING
I support renovating and repurposing existing structures over building new structures. I support the renovation of our dilapidated areas. I beleive that we need to not only continue with downtown redevelopment, but to spread community redevelopment to areas that have yet to see improvements.
MINIMUM WAGE
I support a raise in the minimum wage. 80% of small businesses already pay above the minimum wage. If citizens make more, they can spend more. By helping people to pull themselves up out of poverty we benefit the entire community.
TAKING A STAND
Local government is not only here to fill potholes and cover graffiti- however important those things are. Local officials are representatives of their constituents and it is their obligation to petition our legislators for reform and to demand action on issues that affect us locally.
NATIONAL ISSUES
GET MONEY OUT OF POLITICS
Level the playing field, overturn Citizens United.
LABEL GMO'S
Consumers have a right to know what they are eating.
LGBTQ
I support equal rights for all.
WOMEN'S RIGHTS
Pro Choice.
CANNABIS
I support Canabis decriminalization and medicinal use.
FRACKING
No.
UNIONS
Yes.
IMMIGRATION
I support immigration reform and easing a path to citizenship.