1. What about your background makes you a good County Commissioner?
For the past 11 years, I have been the Executive Director of one of the largest nonprofits in Hudson County that work with families to provide them with the resources they need to thrive. I have also been an active member of the Hamilton Park neighborhood and have served on the County Committee since 2021.
2. How does your background inform how you approach your job?
I have worked on building coalitions between community leaders, experts, and elected officials for the last 11 years in my roles. I believe it should be the role of the County Commissioner to work with the state and municipal governments as well as local leaders and experts on addressing big issues facing the county, like housing affordability and public transportation so that we can work together on finding impactful solutions.
3. You’re running as a progressive. What makes you one?
Being a progressive will fight for working families to ensure every family has an affordable place to live, a clean environment, and good union jobs. I firmly believe we need to do more in this county to expand access to affordable homes, increase public transportation and protect our green spaces.
4. Can you tell us about specific causes you’ve worked on in Jersey City?
For the past few years, I have volunteered with AAPI, Hamilton park farmer Market, Youth Foundation of Jersey City, Hamilton Park Conservancy, and Hamilton Park neighborhood to keep our green spaces clean. I have also worked with local families to connect them with resources across the county.
5. What do you feel are the most important issues to Jersey City residents going forward, and what would you do to address them?
Affordability, the cost of living, has skyrocketed in the past three years. We need more low-cost housing. To do this, I propose we enact a county Right to Counsel, strengthen current rent control laws and work with local municipalities, experts, and local activists to form a coalition to examine ways to increase housing affordability.
Improve our climate resiliency by working towards enacting a county-wide Zero Waste Plan and improving stormwater management infrastructure.
Create safer county roads like JFK Blvd by improving county road design for pedestrian safety, traffic flow, and public transit times.
6. Do you support the plan proposed for Liberty State Park by the Paul Fireman backed groups “Liberty State Park for All” and “The People’s
Park?’
While protecting and expanding public green space in Hudson County is critical, I am concerned that this proposal does not protect Caven Point.
7. Are Jersey City property taxes too low, about right, or too high?
County taxes, which have been raised to the maximum the state allows in the past three years, are high. We need more transparency in what our tax dollars are being spent on. To do this, I propose that the budget be word-searchable on the county website, that there’s public notice and transparency on how contracts are decided, and that we have regular newsletters and town halls for residents.
8. Is there anything else our readers should know about you?
I came to Jersey City because I wanted a tight-knit community where I could raise my son; the best years of Jersey City and Hudson County are ahead of us.