League of Women Voters Guide Responses

Question 1:

Introduction

24 Year Incumbent currently serving 6^th term on Grandview heights City Council, first elected in 2001.  Extensive experience in professional real estate, municipal government, and business.  Small business owner/operator for 30+ years.  Lifelong resident dedicated to our community.

Question 2:

What do you see as the one or two most significant challenges facing the community you would serve, and how would you propose to address them?

Our current challenges pale in comparison to what the city has managed to overcome in the past.  We’ve done an incredible job and we’ve come a long way during my 24 year tenure, but there is still work to do.  State funding cuts to local government and the current trend of passing financial obligations down to the local level will continue to impact our funding and operations.  Along with the help of my former and present colleagues, we have managed to keep up with these challenges over the past quarter of a century to ensure the City’s future.  Continued progress on smart urban redevelopment and durable fiscal policy is essential.  My top priority is to keep the focus on these objectives to remain one of the top communities in the state.

Question 3:

What are your primary priorities for your term in office, and how would you plan to finance these priorities?

My continued priority is doing everything essential to maintain and enhance city operations.  This is often overlooked in a world that has become overburdened with political rhetoric and extreme ideologies.  I’m not that guy.  My focus is clear: operate the City and provide residents with their local government needs and services; Police, Fire, Sanitation, Service, and Parks/Rec.  Working closely with the Finance Director, Mayor, and Department Leaders, I will continue to pursue improvements, through smart urban planning and redevelopment efforts.  Aside from that, I plan to make progress on the “Rails to Trails” multi-modal path, greatly enhancing our greenway/pedestrian connectivity to downtown and neighboring communities to the northwest

Question 4:

Central Ohio continues to experience a large population growth. How do you propose to address needed changes to infrastructure and housing options in your community based on this increase in population?

At just 1.1 square miles, Grandview Heights is much smaller than most people realize.  Still, our needs for infrastructure maintenance and improvements are never ending.  It's a pretty dull topic, but we aren't a city without it.  We've invested some 110M in capital improvements and infrastructure since I was first elected in 2001, and will continue to pursue these projects into the future.  A material increase in our population is limited due to our land-locked boundaries, but infrastructure funding is a constant.  Public-Private partnerships such as Grandview Yard contribute to our ability in maintaining these needs.   Combined with smart and sustainable city planning, our vision for Grandview Heights will remain strong and reliable.

Question 5:

How do you plan to engage with residents and community stakeholders to ensure their voices are heard and represented in your decision-making?

Weighing feedback from stakeholders and residents is always an important part of my decision making.  Often times, decisions involve balancing the known feedback with the fiduciary responsibility owed to the City as an entity, as well as considering individuals who have not expressed a viewpoint.   A clear path is seldom determined solely by feedback; however, engagement remains essential in the decision-making process.  It remains impossible to truly please everyone all of the time - this is where my experience is key, with 24 years on Council, and a lifelong history in Grandview Heights, I've always applied the totality of all aspects in a challenging issue before taking a position, putting aside political games and biased rhetoric.

Question 6:

Describe your approach to building consensus and resolving disagreements among different community stakeholder groups.

There are many ways a disagreement could develop, so handling these occasions requires some dynamics;  what are the circumstances of the disagreement?  Is it based on one's personal beliefs or bias?  Is it possible that more information is needed - are there ample facts or data?  The potential also exists that there are political or religious ideologies managing one's thoughts.  The road to consensus can take many forms.  Consensus certainly doesn't mean that everyone gets everything they want all the time.  My approach is to understand the objections, provide facts, challenge the conversation with alternate views, and allow for a margin of dissent - knowing that it is unlikely that literally everyone will necessarily agree on the outcome.