We Can't Wait-Let's Get to Work Thank you to all the voters, volunteers, and supporters who helped me win the primary election. This campaign was incredible, energizing me as I met so many people who love our city and want to improve it. I’m excited about the work ahead of us. During the primary, one of the things I learned is that we don't need to wait for an election to start leading our city. Our problems are immediate and will only get worse if we do nothing. Leadership doesn’t begin with winning a popularity contest in November. It begins with getting our priorities straight and taking steps to overcome our challenges. Now is the time to get moving. Here are the next steps I plan to take to make Huntington a better place to live and work. Tackle Homelessness We can’t wait to address Huntington’s homelessness crisis. The problem of people living on the streets will only get worse in the summer months. I will work with leaders from Harmony House, Huntington City Mission, and our recovery community to responsibly gather data on our homeless population. Knowing where people are from will enable us to provide better care and prevent the situation from worsening. Combat the Opioid Epidemic We can’t wait to propose how to allocate the opioid settlement money. Drug dealers will continue to prey on the vulnerable, and drug addiction will wreck more families between now and the election. I will meet with our city and county leaders to encourage plans that address the epidemic from both the supply and demand sides. If we wait until after the November election, we’ll be at the back of the line for funds from West Virginia First Foundation, the statewide group responsible for dispersing opioid settlement funds. Huntington should be at the front of the line. Fund Our Schools, Parks, and Libraries We can’t wait to figure out how we are going to fund our schools, parks, and libraries. Waiting to see if a second excess levy can pass is a mistake because failure would be catastrophic. I will work to overcome the rancor and help adopt a “one team, one fight” approach to the next levy. This includes trying to get the school board, the park board, and the library board to recognize how much we have to lose if they don't work together. It also means getting the mayor and City Council off of the sidelines to weigh in on why Huntington needs to support the levy this time. If we don’t all come together to devise a long-term solution and pass the levy, our community will be making a colossal mistake. Mitigate the Flooding We can’t wait for summer thunderstorms to flood our city streets again. We don’t need to see flood waters overflowing from Fourpole Creek into Southside basements to know the time to act is now. The US Army Corps of Engineers has authorization to take the first steps to address the issue in the Fourpole Creek watershed, but we need funding for the project. I will start working now with the county commission, Senator Capito, and Congresswoman Miller to try to secure the funds needed to begin the work. Grow Jobs and Strengthen Our Economy We can’t wait another six months to grow jobs and improve the underpinnings of our economy. Huntington needs more housing, more thoughtful planning, and better infrastructure. I will work with the developers who are building new affordable housing complexes in the city, planning a grocery store in the Fairfield area, and breaking ground on Marshall’s new Institute for Cyber Security to make Huntington a better place to live and work. We don’t need to wait to solve Huntington’s problems. We don’t need permission or an election to lead a city. We just need to get to work.