Our focus will be a BETTER Wilmington, not just a BIGGER one.

In the past couple of decades we’ve seen the downsides of rapid growth: worsening traffic congestion, wear and tear on our infrastructure, spiraling costs for housing and services, loss of our tree canopy and open spaces, natural resource degradation, car pollution, and threats to Wilmington’s character and sense of place.

The recently adopted Land Development Code (LDC), the first in forty years, is commendable. But so much more must be done to turn the tide.

At the current pace of growth, we are overrunning our ability to manage coherently. If elected, my goals will be:

  • Fund and build a more walkable and bikeable Wilmington as a top priority.
  • Invest in our neighborhood parks, citywide sidewalks, bikeways and greenways with the same vision and vigor that we invested in our 35-million-dollar North Riverfront Park.
  • Reduce traffic by fully funding a modern public transit system that residents will want to utilize.
  • Incentivize the building of 3,500 affordable and workforce housing units within five years.
  • Establish and fund a Cape Fear Youth Conservation Corp to plant and maintain 10,000 indigenous trees over five years, learn landscaping and soil erosion skills, as well as forest fire prevention and neighborhood park maintenance.
  • Create jobs for young people with a career path in tune with building out our resilient and sustainable community, tapping into the growing, good paying job opportunities in renewable energies.
  • Increase representation of minorities, young people under 35, and conservationists in our planning bodies.
  • Focus on recruiting companies to Wilmington that will bring living wage jobs for local residents that are sustainable, not just short-term positions with imported workers.
  • Build on the Land Development Code (LDC) design standards to account for the increasing frequency and severity of storm events, subsequent flooding and the relentless desire to build out every vacant lot.
  • Put in place meaningful penalties that will be vigorously enforced for all violations pertaining to the LDC.

We deserve elected officials who will dedicate themselves to making this community an amazing place to live for the people who live here now, and stop pouring gasoline on the growth fire.