It is the responsibility of elected officials to listen to the interests of the people they serve and respond to their concerns effectively.

However, many people, including myself, feel that our voices aren’t being heard and our input isn’t valued by our representatives.

Instead of putting the responsibility on their constituents, our representatives need to start meeting people where they are at by increasing accessibility to government services and making a more concerted effort to encourage others to get involved.

This includes making city council meetings and public feedback mechanisms easier for the public to participate in and removing barriers to entry however we can.

Just because someone can’t make it to a city council meeting doesn’t mean their voice isn’t important.

Ask any Tucson driver or cyclist and you will hear the same complaint - Tucson’s roads are terrible.

From potholes, to deteriorating sidewalks, to unprotected left turns across busy intersections, our streets are dangerous for everyone on the road, including cyclists and pedestrians.

Our city needs to focus on not just maintaining the roads we have today, but also plan for Tucson’s future street infrastructure to meet the needs of our growing city.

This means decreasing the strain on our current transportation infrastructure by increasing resources and funding for our public works projects, expanding public transit options, and building dedicated and physically-separated bike lanes on our roads.

We should find ways to get road resurfacing done quicker and streamline infrastructure projects so they don’t take decades to complete.

Every single day, residents of Tucson are forced to relocate because they are being priced out of their own neighborhoods.

Salaries and wages are not keeping up with the rising costs of living and inflation, leaving people with tough decisions to make about their future.

To combat this, we need to reform our zoning and coding ordinances to create denser, walkable neighborhoods that are more easier to build.

Many of our current laws and regulations were written in the 1960's with reliance on cars for transportation and single-family homes in mind.

The Tucson of the future needs an increase in mixed-use zoning to allow for commercial and residential properties to be zoned in the same area, higher-density infill developments, and less stringent requirements for parking. This would add more housing options for people and bolster our economy in turn.

In Tucson and throughout the nation, we have seen an increase in the homeless and unhoused population, leading to an increased strain on our social and public services.

There are so many reasons why someone might end up homeless, and as your next city council member, I promise to take a compassionate but realistic approach to addressing this crisis.

There is no easy solution to this issue, but there are measures we can enact to alleviate the strain and increase support for those who need it most.

This should include support and services for those who need them, but also policies to keep our community clean and our parks safe for our families.

We are living through a tumultuous time in our nation’s politics. Coming out of the 2024 Presidential election, many Americans are feeling distrust with their government and are worried about the direction we are moving in.

As a father with two young children, I share these concerns, and I am committed to working with members of all political parties to ensure a safe future for our communities and democracy.

To make this happen, we must hold our elected officials accountable to ensure that they are transparent with their intentions and honest about what promises they can actually fulfill.

This requires the government to enforce the rules and regulations in place to all elected officials, no matter how large or small of an office they hold.

As your next city councilman, I vow to remain transparent about my perspective on the issues and honest with my constituents about what the city council can do to help.