.png)
Platform
Seniors
Now more than ever we need to capitalize on the strength of our local Senior Center and expand its ability to serve our seniors with more volunteer support. With the right social media development we can build a robust network of volunteers and mobilize them to safeguard our seniors.
Cypress would really benefit from having a program that serves to connect seniors with families in the community. This would be a great way to provide support and help with errands and grocery shopping. With religious services ceasing altogether or becoming virtual where possible, some households have freed up a little time to go out into the community and serve. What a great message it would send our children to spend an hour or two on a Sunday or a weekday evening dropping off groceries to our seniors who need to stay at home to avoid risk of exposure to the pandemic. With technology any contact between these families and seniors would be virtual. Front porch drop offs eliminate any risk of transmission of the virus but still allow us to get essentials to our senior residents.
Other programs like this are possible and can be managed at low to no cost. Other communities would follow suit. Cypress has an opportunity to become a leader innovating a support network and inspiring other communities to do the same.
Children
I am the parent of a very extroverted child. Our kids' social and emotional well-being is at risk during the isolation of the pandemic. Our children need as much normal as possible but how do we provide that safely?
It's time to get really creative with some solutions that will make our kids feel they are still connected. Between spending more time at home than ever and the absolute necessity of wearing masks in public we have to know what a grave psychological impact this can have on our children. The cancellation of kids' activities for safety is inevitable, so it's time to figure out some other fantastic activities our kids can do.
Cypress needs a committee that can brainstorm for fun ideas and excursions that can be socially distant but still promote our kids' growth and development. It will take work, community spirit and love but there is no better place to invest these resources than in our children.
Business
All around the city of Cypress we see our local small businesses working their hardest. They are having to answer questions they've never had to and deal with business scenarios they never anticipated. We need a City Council that can support their endeavors. Permits for safe outdoor activities and building to support them need to be accessible and have a fast turnaround.
We need to take a close look at how we generate revenue as a city and make any changes to taxation transparent, understandable and beneficial to both businesses and residents. While it is important to generate revenue to support city services it is also critical that we not overburden businesses already struggling to stay operational.
We need more campaigns to remind our residents to support the businesses we have in the community who are providing tax revenue so that we see them stay in business here.
We also need to provide quick access to information so that owners can continue to operate businesses safely and responsibly. Local and statewide mandates regarding closures are confusing and often contradictory. We need to provide additional clarity so that our local business owners know how to respond and manage their business through this crisis.
Residents
Contracts for services that are provided to residents are critical in the city of Cypress. We need to exercise prudence and transparency in the process of entertaining any changes to service providers. Open bidding by multiple providers is a necessity. The process of entertaining multiple bids ensures that competition for contracts will result in enhanced services for our residents and is essential for fairness. Our residents need an opportunity to view this process as it unfolds and be able to give their opinion in an open forum.
It is simply unacceptable to see the cost for services provided rise without a commensurate improvement in level of service. Should this occur the city needs to build into our contracts the freedom to reopen the bidding process and entertain new offers.
Redevelopment
If you've watched what's been on your ballot you have seen various measures to develop or redevelop a few areas of our city. I have attended City Council meetings as a concerned resident and it's become clear that this stirs up quite a few issues.
We are all concerned with the safety of Cypress, with maintaining and beautifying it, with keeping a nice balance between business, retail, residential, and recreational uses. As opportunities for redevelopment arise as they will continue to, we need to look carefully at what the possibilities are. We need to be prudent when making financial decisions about those possibilities. And we need to be listening to the concerns of our residents and citizens who will be impacted by these changes for many years to come.
Law Enforcement
I continue to be proud of the relationship between our local law enforcement, our City Council and officials and our residents.
All areas of life have been changed by the pandemic and our local law enforcement have worked hard to maintain our safety through this challenging and constantly changing landscape.
I was deeply impressed to see the Cypress police embracing the idea of peaceful protest in recent months. It is important for people to be able to safely gather under these new constraints and express their views. Rather than contribute to defensiveness or hostility our local Cypress police embraced this right, worked closely with our city officials, and joined our community in expressing the importance of fairness and equality for everyone.
This wasn't the case in every community, but it definitely was in ours. As a council member I would be committed to continuing to support and work in conjunction with law enforcement and first responders to keep building this momentum.
