1) Winthrop is a diverse community with a diverse array of needs. What skills will you bring to town council that will help address the needs of all constituents?

In addition to being a solution focused problem solver by nature, I also have broad experiences in a diverse array professional backgrounds, industries and interpersonal groupings of individuals. Ultimately, when communication and issue resolution are your primary focus - that application is broad.

1A) What do you see as Winthrop's top two priorities and what do you propose we do to address them?

Environmental/climate concerns and identification of revenue sources are the two largest looming issues in Winthrop and the impact to the same should be primary barometers of decision making in town as in "how will this decision improve or worsen climate/environmental impacts or our financial position?". In terms of the solutions to climate impacts - the responses are many and varied however, the Citizens Advisory Commission on Climate has sketched a good picture and has us well on our way to providing recommendations to the town.

2) The recent construction on Revere Street and the lack of signalized pedestrian crossings at the intersection with Main St are just some recent signs of how inhospitable our streets are for young kids. How do we ensure residents feel safe walking/biking /letting their kids walk/bike to and from school?

There are a couple of practices that should be standardized and enforced in town. At the outset, any construction project should submit a construction and traffic management plan for approval. There should also be a threshold determined for implementation of traffic studies on certain projects - whether the projects are sizeable enough to warrant it or if they represent a 'tipping point' for the area.

Additionally, there should be a mechanism for residents to provide inputs highlighting accessibility concerns that can be reviewed by the Transportation Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC) for recommendations to the town.

3) Traffic in Winthrop has gotten worse for a number of reasons. How can we make alternatives to cars more appealing so fewer people choose to drive? What ways do you see Winthrop being able to alleviate traffic?

We need to identify alternative modes of transportation that to not overburden existing methods. Improvements to the MBTA service along with, maximizing use of ferries and identifying opportunities for other modes that take advantage of our expansive harbor front could alleviate traffic quite a bit.

4) The rising cost of homes and rents is the driving force behind the cost of living crisis that is pricing many long term residents and families out of Winthrop. How will you ensure that families can afford to age within our community and not be priced out of our community?

The recent MBTA 3A zoning conversation have afforded us the opportunity to do a deep dive into our existing zoning and accessible housing availability in town. The loosening of zoning to allow 2 units in 5000 square foot lots, which is currently zoned for single unit dwellings, will greatly aid those folks that find themselves in either component of a 'sandwich' generation providing opportunities for young adults to gain footing and elder parents to age in place.

5) Winthrop still must come up with the funds for other big ticket items such as repairing the utility lines and pipes under our streets, and pay for climate mitigation work, despite the recent success of the override. What is the most impactful thing you suggest the town do to better improve its budgetary outlook?

We need to increase commerce in town and find ways to support it. We are notoriously limited on ideas it seems as we continuously either lean on property owners and tax payers, or are tempted to acquiesce to development on the developers terms. We should be developing a master plan for commerce and work to support and attract businesses that will bring folks into town to spend money - while supporting a painless exit strategy once they have deposited their funds. I'd like to see a Task Force or CAC installed to accomplish just that.

6) What are the neighborhoods with the greatest resiliency/flooding needs? How do you see that being addressed? How does this affect your precinct if running precinct specific, or the town if an at large position?

As a member of the Citizens Advisory Commission on Climate, we have developed a Climate Tracker to identify and track some of the high impact areas or 'Hot Spots'. The goal is to identify impacted areas, develop strategies for addressing them and provide recommendations to the Town Council. The high impact areas have been identified as follows: 1) Morton & Banks St. 2) Short Beach/Revere Beach 3)Pico Beach/Fishermen's Bend 4) Tilestone & Girdlestone 5)Yirrell Beach & Point Shirley 6) Central Business District/Ingleside Park 7)Shirley Street/Delby's Corner - additionally, we have identified decarbonization efforts as a priority to aid in staving off climate impacts. Needless to say - while these concerns can be alleviated, we will need to maximize all local, state and federal resources to accomplish resiliency.