Why I’m Running:

• Keep taxes as low as possible

Pooler's tax digest and revenue streams continue to grow with every house sold and every business opened in our fair city. Even so, the current council felt the need to raise the milllage rate last year. For at least the past 2 years, Pooler has operated with a multi million dollar surplus. A "rainy day" fund is obviously a prudent and appropriate account for the city to maintain, but at some point that excess revenue should be returned to the tax payers to spend as they see fit.

• Infrastructure that keeps up with growth

Our government should be proactive, not reactive. We know where the houses are being built and where the businesses are being opened. Traffic patterns should be anticipated and addressed with new median cuts and traffic lights before cars stack up and accidents occur. It might also be wise to look at creating bikeways as PUD's are developed to foster mixed use neighborhoods.

• Long term planning for the city

Pooler is nearing the end of a 5 year Capital Improvement Projects plan that deals with growth and maintenence of city services like police, recreation and public works. The city should also have a 20 or 30 year plan that can be modified as conditions warrant to accommodate the explosion of growth the city is experiencing. Pooler's population has already doubled since the last census, and in May the mayor told the "Savannah Business Report" that "at that rate, we could grow to be a city of 30000-plus people"

• Be a voice for all of Pooler’s citizens

I am uniquely qualified to address the needs of the city as a person who can lay claim to being both someone who grew up in west Chatham, graduating from Groves High School, and a resident of the Godley Station area who was drawn to Pooler when I came home to raise a family and start my career. I am blessed to have many friends and neighbors that I grew up with still living here as well as many who may not have heard of our wonderful city before moving here and making it home. I can be a bridge between Pooler's past and Pooler's future because I am Pooler's past and Pooler's future.

• Maintain Pooler’s small town charm as it becomes the focus of West Chatham County

Protecting the integrity of existing neighborhoods is an important component of building new ones. Appropriate buffers between various developments allow each to foster and maintain its individual character. Creating an Historic district on the Hwy. 80 corridor might also be a useful way to keep our "Main Street" a true slice of Americana.