restore common sense

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I grew up in a working-class household where my parents taught me the value of hard work,

fiscal responsibility, and community service early in life. These principles have shaped my life

and guided every decision. It’s why I became an educator—to help the next generation and

families succeed—and it’s a driving force behind why I’m running for Lake County Board.

I witnessed working families who were struggling to get by, making the tough decisions on

whether they buy more groceries or clothes for school. It’s a reality for so many of our

neighbors and those looking to set their family roots here in Lake County. In order to make this

a place where those working families can call home, we need leaders who prioritize making it

more affordable.

Our County Board has lost sight of serving the everyday people who make up our communities.

Instead of choosing Lake County, families, businesses, and builders are forced to go to McHenry

County or Wisconsin where they are welcomed with open arms. Lake County has become a

place only for the wealthy, and not working families and those who have long rooted family

history here.

We need a leader who will be the voice for common sense and reason, and who will go to bat

for the people who elected them to serve.

 I will work to eliminate wasteful spending and tax increases costing working families. Our county owes $218 million in debt and interest, and isn’t scheduled to pay off this amount until 2044, yet our county still opts to waste resources on projects and initiatives that don’t make residents’ lives better.

A County Board Member recently brought up the idea of giving tax breaks to county employees for electric vehicles. The Diversity Board wants to hire a consultant which will cost over $100,000 a year and will potentially jeopardize our county’s ability to receive grants. A new ordinance mandates new homes and properties have built-in sprinklers, adding tens of thousands of dollars to new home buyers. And the County Board voted to make all newly constructed buildings and houses require bird-friendly windows which will add to the cost for builders, buyers, and taxpayers.

Our government is prioritizing the wrong things and this wasteful spending leads to higher taxes when the cost-of-living is already unaffordable. Working families aren’t able to get ahead or put money aside for their children’s future. And long term if we stay on this path, jobs will leave, and it will be even less affordable to call Lake County home.

I will push back against all tax increases. I will find obvious waste in the county budget to cut so we can stop asking you and our neighbors for more. And I will work with businesses and builders to roll back burdensome permits and regulations.

 We also need to eliminate government overreach to ensure Lake County gets back to providing basic services. Our county government is continuously finding ways to make doing business in Lake County harder, while making it easier for their special interests and insiders. Right now, no one is fighting back and making it known how ineffective and deceiving our government is. Builders shouldn’t have to check 50 different boxes that prolongs the process and adds months, even years, to the development when revenue could be generated sooner.

I will be on the side of the working families and those who are impacted by our government’s overreach to restore common sense and ensure our government is focused on projects that improve people’s everyday lives, not the special interests.

 As someone who has a deep appreciation for the Chain O’Lakes, I know how important these bodies of water are to our community and economy, and we must protect Lake County’s beauty while remaining fiscally-responsible. One of the biggest concerns right now in our district is the dumping of sewage into the lakes. At this rate, future generations won’t be able to spend their summer months on the lake, and restaurants and businesses around the lakes that employ thousands of Lake County residents would have to close. Current incumbent Linda Pedersen has been working on solving this issue for some time now, and it’s a massive project. I will pick up where she leaves off at the end of her term and finish the work she has started.

We need to continue having leadership on the County Board from the area advocating for our community on the County Board. I will advocate to start building the infrastructure needed for a sewage plant so we can responsibly begin cleaning up our lakes and ensure our residents are living in clean, safe environments.