Protect Taxpayers

My "CAP" spending approach is designed to streamline county government to better manage your tax dollars and protect you from unnecessary tax increases. There are three core components:

Consolidation - identify and merge duplicative and overlapping programs

Accountability - when a department's budget is set, perform a quarterly review to ensure it stays within budget and take corrective action before it's too late

Prioritization - programs cannot be evaluated in a vacuum. Every program has some good, but we cannot fund them all. We must prioritize programs based on need and effectiveness.

Prioritize Public Safety and Essential Services

Public Safety - Our Sheriff's department does a great job partnering with law enforcement agencies across our district and across our county. We should encourage such partnerships, not seek to eliminate them. Prevention is also critical. Accessible mental health and addiction treatment can prevent crime before people ever enter the justice system.

Essential Services - The county administers Medicaid and SNAP, subsidizes MetroHealth (our public safety-net hospital), provides mental health and addiction services, takes care of abused and neglected children, provides a host of senior services and more. Unfortunately, federal and state funding has declined and our county is struggling to maintain critical programs. I am committed to preserving our most effective and most essential services.

Empower Unions

Our county is a major employer, builder, and purchaser of services. Those dollars should be used responsibly to support good jobs throughout our county. I have a three-part pledge to promote good union jobs when our county’s resources are used:

1. Build with union labor. County-funded infrastructure projects should use union labor, ensuring our public investment benefits from and supports skilled trades. 

2. Respect public employees and collective bargaining. The county should not outsource public work or undermine collective bargaining agreements. 

3. Protect workers when partnering with nonprofits. When the county partners with nonprofits, they should be required to enter into Labor Peace Agreements that protect workers’ ability to unionize. 

Build Stronger, More Resilient Communities

Our county invests in significant building, infrastructure, and economic and community development projects. When we make these investments, they should strengthen our communities and prepare us for the future. I will ensure that public facilities use sustainable technology and that stormwater and other infrastructure projects are planned for resilience and long-term value. And in District 5, we should listen to residents who want more third places that bring people together—parks, sidewalks, recreational trails, and other spaces that connect our communities. These investments can strengthen neighborhoods, improve our quality of life, and attract businesses while building a Cuyahoga County prepared for the future.