Check out my unique qualifications

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This is a deeply personal issue for me, as I know it is for most of us in Sandy. As an avid skier, I spend a lot of time making my way up and down Little Cottonwood Canyon. You likely have your own opinion about the Gondola, and I do, too. Solving the traffic problems in the canyon is going to take more than one gondola line. I'm interested in holistic solutions—one that addresses traffic wherever it starts or ends. Because it isn't just a matter of convenience for skiers and other canyon-goers, but it's an environmental one. Idling cars and standstill traffic is a mar on our community. 

Other open spaces, within our city boundaries, are what make Sandy the beautiful place it is. Most days I walk through a section of Dimple Dell, taking in fresh air and sunshine. The proximity of this and all of Sandy's parks are assets to our community. 

I’ve had dogs all my life. They have added a lot of love and fun and hard work to our lives. I have two dogs now, Comet and Rhodie, and I also foster about 10 dogs each year. While I appreciate that the Sandy Animal Shelter is a No-Kill shelter since 2015, this doesn’t actually solve the problem. Sandy’s shelter is often too full to take unwanted animals, and other services pick up the slack. No-kill shelters are just the beginning to addressing the overpopulation of unwanted pets. In Sandy. There is still a lot of work to be done to address this issue, including programs to help people spay and neuter their pets and exploring city ordinances that would prevent unethical breeding. 

They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, it takes a community to make a community work, and work well. One of my first experiences interacting with local government was when I was a young mother living in Texas. A city bus stop was set up in the parking lot of my daughter’s elementary school. The close proximity was causing some safety concerns during school drop-off and pick-up. When I first brought up the issue of moving the bus stop, I was told by multiple people that it would never work—the city wouldn’t listen, there would be too many hurdles. But I was determined to fix this problem. I attended planning and zoning meetings and city council meetings. I showed up and I kept showing up. I made a lot of phone calls, and I even dropped in to people’s offices. I was determined that there was a satisfactory solution for both the city transit department and our school community. 

Ultimately, the city did move the bus stop across the street, and that resulted in adding a new crosswalk. This increased the overall safety of pedestrians crossing the street in that area, as well as providing a buffer for our schoolkids. In addition, pairing the bus stop with the grocery store and businesses across the street made it a lot more convenient for the bus patrons.   

That experience was such a positive experience for me, proving that great things can come from elected officials and community members working together to solve problems. 

There are lots of ways to engage with your community. Here’s how I have stayed connected: 

I’ve been on the school board of Blessed Sacrament, the Catholic school in Sandy that both of my daughters attended. I’ve also been on multiple PTA boards, serving in many different roles over the years including  president, the fundraising chair where I ran the school’s largest fundraising event, and of course, an everyday volunteer. I have folded more chairs and mopped more floors after events than I care to count. 

I stay engaged with our lawmakers from the city, state and national levels. I believe it’s important for our elected officials to know what their constituents care about, so I stay up-to-date on current events and how those impact our everyday lives. And I send regular correspondence to my own representatives.

I also engage with my local community by taking advantage of all the benefits Sandy has to offer. One of my favorite things to do is attend concerts at Sandy Amphitheater. I also frequent the public library, city events like food truck rallies and the farmers market. There’s so many great things to do in Sandy and supporting our local events, including shopping and eating local, helps keep all of those benefits going.