Experience serving the City

I began sitting in on and studying City proceedings in early 2007. I routinely attended meetings of the Plan Commission, Common Council, Finance Committee and Public Safety & Welfare Committee because they were the bodies that most directly impacted City of Verona residents.

Comprehensive Plan Committee

My first official volunteer service to the City of Verona was on the Comprehensive Plan Committee. The Mayor appointed me, and the Common Council unanimously confirmed me as a member of the committee. Between December, 2007 and August, 2009, I reviewed and fully understood every chapter of the plan, including numerous comments from the public, and participated in making a number of adjustments prior to the plan’s adoption in September. I went above and beyond the call of committee membership by volunteering to help City staff tabulate results from one of the surveys and by helping our Planning Director perform copy editing on several of the chapters before final adoption. I felt that these functions were important and worthy of some extra time and effort. My service on this committee officially ended on September 14, 2009 when the Common Council adopted the plan that we had assembled.

Zoning Board of Appeals

On May 12, 2008, I was appointed by the Mayor to serve on the Zoning Board of Appeals, and was unanimously confirmed by the Common Council. Our duty was to examine requests for zoning variances, which were used to resolve situations that put an unintentional hardship on a property owner, through no fault of their own. We considered each variance request to determine whether the intent of the law was still followed even if the letter of the law was unreasonable in the given case. My service on this body ended upon my election to the Common Council.

Plan Commission

I joined the Plan Commission on September 22, 2008, again by Mayoral appointment and unanimous confirmation of the Common Council. I felt that this was one of the most important roles for an appointed citizen to serve because it directly guided Verona’s growth and redevelopment activities. I looked forward to the arrival of the materials for each meeting and I spent much of the weekend studying, researching related issues and touring the properties that we would be discussing. For example, my children and I spent most of New Year's Day 2009 driving to three other Dane County communities to view existing examples of a development that was being proposed for Verona. I didn't view this as giving up personal free time - rather, I viewed it as using my free time to do things that were important to my community and me. I stepped down from the Plan Commission shortly after I was elected to the Common Council in order to preserve the balance of citizen appointees and elected officials.

Alderman for District 4

I was sworn in to elected office on April 20, 2010 after prevailing in the Spring election. My highest priority is public safety because we have nothing if we do not feel safe in our own community. A close second is making sure we get our money's worth out of the tax dollars that we pay to the City. I have been enjoying my service on the Common Council every bit as much as I have enjoyed my previous appointments. I currently serve on the Public Safety & Welfare Committee and the Ethics Board.