Priorities
Healthy Growth for Cleveland Heights
I believe that when a city invests in health and safety, in housing and sustainability, it grows—not just in population, but in opportunity. Here are some of my priorities for Cleveland Heights.
Walkability & Safer Streets
Whether you’re walking, biking, taking transit or a car, we all deserve to get home to our families safely at the end of each day. But right now, our streets are designed to prioritize speed for cars over safety for all. Roads designed to freeway standards do not belong in our neighborhoods, and are more dangerous for all road users. Thirteen people died in traffic crashes in Cleveland Heights from 2020 - 2023, including multiple pedestrians.[1] That’s unacceptable. We deserve better. I’ll promote walkability and pedestrian safety, neighborhood traffic calming, a safe biking network, and city-wide improvements to sidewalks and roadways—especially near schools and in neighborhoods where speeding is a constant danger.
Parks, Trails and Recreation
Cleveland Heights benefits from the visionaries who established and protected our historic park system. These parks continue to benefit us and the planet in numerous ways, but years of underinvestment have left them overgrown with invasive species and underutilized by residents. Our parks and trails deserve stewardship equal to their beauty, to ensure healthy use now and for many generations to come. Our recreation facilities and programs should be expanded to support healthy lifestyle needs of all ages and abilities.
Environmental Sustainability
Our city must be a leader on climate action. I’ll work to implement the Climate Forward Plan—helping residents switch to electric vehicles and home appliances, expanding composting and tree planting programs, and using green infrastructure to prevent flooding. I know that walkable, bikeable communities don’t just reduce pollution—they create healthier communities for everyone, and our planet.
Smart Growth
Continued population loss in Cleveland Heights creates a cycle of higher taxes and declining services. We need more housing in Cleveland Heights, and a broader diversity of homes that work for everyone from young families just getting started to long-time residents looking to age in place. We need smarter rules and zoning reforms that make it easier to build new homes on vacant lots and add backyard cottages for aging parents or grown kids, and create mixed-use neighborhoods where people can meet their daily needs without a car. I also want to expand programs for fixing up older homes—because preserving what makes our neighborhoods beautiful is just as important as growing.