The Sunflower reached out to all the Wichita City Council candidates for an interview about their priorities, background and more. Candidates’ answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Why are you running for your position?
I’m running because I actually care about District 1. I grew up in District 1 at a time when I saw things flourishing, or it appeared as a kid, you know. We had grocery stores, we had businesses. And as I got older, these things started disappearing. I’ve noticed now, as an adult, our community has been neglected, so I’m running because I want to bring back the things that were here at one point in time, but even bigger and even better.
How would you describe the role of a city council member?
We are charged with taking care of our citizens. We need to make sure that we supply the basic qualities of life – you know, food, shelter, feeling safe. We have to make sure we have safe and thriving communities. We need to make sure we have affordable homes, right? We need to make sure that … We had a young lady here that says she has to go to the grocery stores and that she doesn’t always feel safe. We can do better than that, and so I want to make sure our neighborhoods are safe. How do we do that? Community policing, just put community back into community policing. We’re all working together for the bigger good of the community.
What are your main priorities for District 1? How do you plan to address these issues?
I’d like to talk about safe and thriving communities because once communities feel safe, we can bring businesses into these communities, which will be our economic driver. We used to have, on 21st and Grove, a center where you could go and get training to go into the aircraft industry. It went away. Safe and thriving; we can bring these jobs back. We can bring back entities here in our district, and then we also have to be creative. We know we have aircraft, we have manufacturing, we are really hitting on the medical side of things. But we can do something outside of the box; we have movie directors in Wichita. They have movies on Tubi and on (Amazon) Prime — why not invest in something different? Tyler Perry went to Atlanta and made it a mecca for making movies, why can’t we have that here? So we have to think outside the box and say, “What else can we do as an economic driver?”
Why should students vote for you?
Students should vote for me because of my lived experience. I have kids, right? I know my daughter graduated from college with a biochemistry degree, and could not find a job. I want our students here at WSU to understand that if we work together (with) the city and work with the students, we know what jobs they’re going to be looking for. It’s our job to attract those industries here in Wichita, so our students don’t leave. And for the students who are transfers, they stay because they know they have a pathway to success.
What experience do you have that makes you the best fit for this position?
Lived experiences. I worked for (the) Sedgwick County Fire District for 20 years, and since it was a district, it had its own funding mechanism. It didn’t get funds from the general (budget). I handled all things finances for the Fire District, which means I have 20 years experience working with $14-20 million budgets. So, I lived that experience hands-on. This is my community, I grew up here. So, I’ve seen the changes, I know the possibilities. I’m not a transplant, so I know the possibilities, and that makes me a good candidate for District 1. I could’ve moved from District 1. I intentionally stayed in District 1 because I love this district.
What principles or values would you say are the most important to you, or would guide your decisions in this role?
Ethics, morals, honestly — those things matter. If you have no integrity, you have no business in government. Our citizens have to trust that if they vote you in to represent them, we can’t flip-flop on them once we get in that seat, so we have to be honest. We have to be ethical. And I stand for those principles because other than that, again, we’ll have a failed system. That’s what we don’t want.
Are there any past actions of the City Council that you strongly agree or disagree with? Why?
Some of the actions that I would strongly disagree with is that in the papers recently, we’ve seen the city has given a lot of, they call them “Sweetheart Bills” to big businesses on the premise that they would return the investment, and we haven’t seen that return. We’re going to stop giving out the tax base because the taxes is how we pay for everything. And so, if you’re a multimillionaire and you want to get something started, you want to start fulfilling your own bill because it’s weighing heavy on the burdens of the taxpayers.
Our parks are beautiful. We have to make sure that we have green space, and that’s something that they’ve really been pushing is walkability, even though we’re not there yet. But I think we should be able to look outside our homes and see a beautiful place to live, to know that you’re in a safe environment, and that’s what I want for us. I want all of us to feel like we’re in a place where we can be happy, we can prosper, and where we all can grow.
What role does Wichita State University play in District 1?
(WSU is) one of the biggest developers in District 1. This plays a major role. A few years ago, they were talking about University Village, and so they were saying, “How can we as a university connect with our neighbors?” I liked the plans that they had laid out, and so I just hope that they continue. On the plan was daycare centers, grocery stores, and so I think WSU could be an amazing neighbor in this area. You know, they’ve offered scholarships to make sure kids can get an education. So, I want us to continue the relationship and make it even better.
