A Chesapeake for All of Us
What My Candidacy is About
Community
A Space Strong Enough for All of Us
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and the seemingly unending suburban sprawl in Southern Chesapeake has made Chesapeake's existing infrastructure unsustainably weak. Our roads and schools are over-saturated while our green space continues to be sold to developers eager to exploit our reputation as a place for families to thrive, ultimately weakening our way of life.
I will not support any development that will worsen our overcrowded schools or roads, or development that would otherwise diminish our quality of life. What I will support, however, are projects that will provide our working class families and young people the opportunity to become homeowners. Projects that focus on the future of Chesapeake might not be flashy, but they will provide us and our families long-term benefits. A city council that rejects reckless land management will allow us to develop what matters: a Chesapeake that is able to support the folks who call it home.
My candidacy is about making a thoughtfully-managed Chesapeake our reality.
Partnership &
Representation
No One Should Have to Fight to Be Heard
Today, a variety of causes keep some of Chesapeake's residents from enjoying the same access to city programs and leadership other residents enjoy. Prioritizing certain projects and residents is anti-democratic, causing harm to the City of Chesapeake and each of its citizens.
An essential step to becoming a city of equal opportunity is to establish single-member voting districts for local elections, where each area of the city will be represented by one of its community members. At its best, our current at-large system to elect city leaders drastically limits officials' ability to serve all of us. In fact, because of its discriminatory impact, the US Congress banned at-large voting systems at the state and national level. Chesapeake's at-large voting system must be replaced with single-member districts similar to our system for state and national elections, so we can be represented by folks who live in our communities and understand our needs.
My candidacy is about establishing a single-member system for local elections so each of us can have a community voice who represents us.
Workers' Rights
The most effective means to a harmonious and cooperative relationship between the City of Chesapeake government and its employees is through collective bargaining, or contract negotiation.
The issue of collective bargaining has become urgent because Chesapeake is facing the arrival of international firms who are establishing themselves here in order to cut costs. Salaries are one of the easiest expenses to reduce, so we need to take measures now that will protect our earning potential in the future. When the US outsourced work to Mexico in the 1970s, we eventually took control of the Mexican local economies where our corporations were established. We should expect the same to happen in Chesapeake. This issue will not affect us tomorrow, but it will certainly erode citizen quality of life over time, making Chesapeake an unfriendly place for our grandchildren & great grandchildren to call home.
Collective bargaining will allow workers to bargain for contracts that secure simple, yet powerfully motivating cost-of-living increases and safety measures with city employers. Chesapeake City Council needs follow the lead of other Virginia localities and adopt & authorize an ordinance or resolution approving the Council's participation in the process.
My candidacy is about facilitating this step toward a workforce that has a voice in creating terms of their employment and securing Chesapeake's future as a place where folks want to live, play, work, and farm.
City Employees Have a Right to Speak for Themselves