If you work for a boss, you deserve a living wage. We support the call for a $15 minimum wage with appropriate policies to phase in small businesses. We can be the first city in the state to ensure all workers make at least $15/hour, receive paid sick leave, and get access to fair scheduling - policies that will help more of us raise a family and build a healthy future in Charleston.  

For the past four years, Charleston City Council has watched as our city has transformed into the nation's latest overdose capitol. Worse, in April 2021, City Council voted 24-1 to criminalize CDC-recommended harm reduction. The bar is low, but we're not running to play limbo. We will work to decriminalize harm reduction on day one. From there, we will advocate for the city to come up with a plan for overdose zero and zero detectable HIV cases. We know this plan will need to include people who use drugs at the table. We also know we will need an Overdose Zero Task Force, overdose prevention sites, naloxone in every city building, safe drug testing, decriminalization of cannabis, and accessible harm reduction services in every corner of the city. 

Our city is better than photographing our houseless neighbors for facebook points. It's better than letting our community centers stay locked up on nights when its below 40 degrees. It's better than getting rid of public benches or putting up fences around our churches. It's better than evicting people from their tents.

I will raise the volume on real solutions: including championing drop-in centers, warming stations, safe camping sites, and economic policies that get at the pain that drive so many in our city to its edges. As part of the Charleston Can't Wait platform, I will put my shoulder behind: a new program that puts unemployed people to work building/refurbishing homes, the creation of a 24-hour trauma-informed healing center, and the establishment of an Office of Recovery and Overdose Prevention to support efforts led by and for people in recovery and people who use drugs. It's time we bring our best selves to the table.

As a local bookseller, I know how hard it is to make a bricks and mortar business work. I believe that to help more of our main streets thrive, we need to put the heat on out-of-town vacant landlords who are benefiting from our eyesores. I also believe by raising for the floor for fair wages, more of us will have more money and more time to spend supporting their local shops. I will also advocate for more communication from City Hall. For example, the Mayor's office has led a number of rounds of mini grants for small businesses. If there were regular mailers sent to small biz owners, more would surely take us up on these opportunities.

I stand by the Charleston Can't Wait plan to invest in the West Side. Specifically, I will advocate for the creation of a West Side Community Development Authority. We would seek to start this effort with $10 million in American Rescue Plan funds in order to support, train, fund, and promote local businesses, repair street light and sidewalks, and fund community centers. We will be guided by and work in solidarity with West Side community members who've been waiting for a fair shake for far too long.

I’ve worked hard to develop more communities of art and culture in Charleston & WV - including setting up improv and writing groups, launching our first downtown co-working space, and producing a feature film with an all-mountaineer cast. I will support our robust arts and culture community wherever I can. And just in case you have ideas for a Fringe Festival, a hackathon for nonprofits, a Charleston OverdoseX TED Talk series, a Summer Coding Camp, a larger co-working space, or something else that has some pop, please get in touch. Our future is unwritten. 

We need solar on City Hall and everywhere else. We need electric buses that run free of carbon and are free to ride to boot. We need a City that is dedicated to energy efficiency, not just for new housing stock, but for the old stock too. We also need to root this work in environmental justice. According to the EPA, North Charleston has at least a 5 times higher cancer rate than South Hills. We need a City Council that is focused on pressuring Dow, the DEP, and the EPA to address this inequity.

Imagine an Office of Senior Living. This office could help seniors access and troubleshoot services. It could have social workers and outreach workers. It could also offer its own activities such as volunteer and mentorship opportunities. This office could also be a vehicle for planting more benches, opening more public restrooms, and making sure our city is a place where seniors can thrive for generations to come.