Community Safety
If our residents do not feel safe, then the quality of our education system, the prosperity of our economy, and the quality of life generally don't matter. We recently hired an outstanding new police chief who understands the diverse needs of our community, and I am confident that our police will continue to further ingratiate themselves into our various neighborhoods as partners to provide for public safety.
Education
Good schools make for good citizens which makes for a great City. It is imperative that we continue to fund our school system at a level that allows for the education of children from all backgrounds. Education is the great equalizer in society. If Roanoke is to continue to make progress and improve in all areas, we must have a strong school system.
Post-pandemic: Business and Employment Support
City Council must make sure that we are maintaining a welcoming business environment as we recover from the Coronavirus particularly as we face significantly reduced revenues as a government. Businesses provide a vast majority of the jobs to our citizens, so we have to make sure that our businesses are operating within an environment that enables them to recover as quickly as possible and re-employ folks as soon as they can. Tough decisions will have to be made as our local government also recovers from the pandemic, and steady, proven leadership is essential.