PLATFORM

1. Fiscal Responsibility and No Unnecessary Tax Hikes  

Rising property values already increase what the College collects. That growth should be enough without raising rates. Before any request for more tax money, I will look hard at major spending, contracts, capital projects, and administrative growth. Taxpayer dollars belong in instruction and student success first. Short lived initiatives and sloppy contracts should not drive the bill. The less we waste, the more we can put into programs that actually help local students.

2. Local Students and Taxpayers First  

Yavapai County residents and their children should get appropriate priority when seats are limited, especially in nursing and other healthcare pathways. If qualified local students are being turned away, the College should expand capacity, not shrug. Success should mean graduates stay and work in our communities. Our area needs more high paying jobs and more homegrown talent. I will push for programs that fill those gaps. Waste less, and there is more room to build what District 4 actually needs.

3. Transparency  

Taxpayers and students deserve to know how decisions get made and where the money goes. I will push for budgets people can actually follow, answers in a reasonable time, and public discussion before big votes. Too much happens with incomplete information or after the real choice has already been made. Openness is not a slogan. It is how a public college stays honest with the people who fund it.

4. Leadership and Programs That Serve This Community  

Senior leadership should be committed to Yavapai County’s long term needs, not to trends that mainly serve students from somewhere else. I will support growing qualified talent already here and putting resources into programs tied to real local demand. That includes healthcare, skilled trades, outdoor recreation, and mountain biking. District 4 communities like Chino Valley, Paulden, Ash Fork, Seligman, and Williamson Valley should see a college that is built for them.

5. Employees Have the Right to Speak Out  

Employees must be able to bring legitimate concerns to elected board members without fearing retaliation. Board members should also be able to hear from students and staff at more than one level of the organization. Leave, discipline, and workplace rules should be applied the same way across the institution. Faculty and staff are a huge asset. If they cannot speak freely, the Board is flying blind.

6. Independent Oversight. The Board Must Govern  

The Governing Board exists to set direction, approve the budget, and hold leadership accountable. It should not exist to rubber stamp decisions already made. I will insist on complete information before major votes, rules that apply evenly, and real follow through when problems are ignored. Process that produces no results still costs taxpayers money. One board member cannot run the College day to day. A board member can refuse to look away.