(posted Feb 9 2026)
I spent the weekend ringing doorbells, passing out flyers, and talking to neighbors near and far here in Cottage Grove. It’s honestly my favorite part of running in this election, because I get to visit with the people who live here. They aren’t survey entries or lines in a voter database, they’re real and human.They have kids who wave and ask curious questions, jobs and chores to get to so they can only spare a minute, and dogs that jump up to say hi.
Not everyone is home or wants to talk politics on their porch, of course, but I’ve been fortunate enough to speak with someone on nearly every street. People have shared their stories of moving to Cottage Grove and what they hoped it might become. I spoke with retirees who watched their children grow up here and move away, and now they want to see the tax money come in from Amazon and other projects to help them keep their house. I spoke with the mother of an autistic child who would’ve enjoyed a library that was within walking or biking distance, but understands that the options so far haven’t been the right fit.
Everyone has a different perspective, and a slightly different piece of the puzzle, and sometimes it’s close to true but not quite. There are often concerns with recent apartment developments such as Glen Grove, but most of those I spoke to didn’t know that they partner with a wonderful non-profit called Movin’ Out. They assist people with disabilities and veterans in obtaining affordable and accessible housing, many of whom would not be able to afford or maintain a single-family home. People say they’re worried about Amazon trucks coming through Main Street, but aren’t aware that we have a specific legal agreement preventing that very thing. Others have heard that the schools are overflowing, when we’re only at about half capacity.
It got me thinking about what transparency means. We all talk about it as candidates, and it’s even in the name of the office itself - “trustee”. We’re asking our neighbors to put their trust in us, but it’s not because we’re experts. We have an amazing staff at Village Hall who are, and they spend every day immersed in the reports and data that have the truth of these situations, but it’s difficult to translate pages of expense sheets into an explanation. What we are, or should be, is advocates and leaders.
I believe our role as elected representatives is to be a bridge between the in-depth facts and the human needs. We should be listening to what our community wants, and we should be looking to provable data for the solutions. If elected, it’s my sincere intention to never cast a vote because it’s what I think is best. I want every motion I weigh in on to be a question of what the people want and need, with an answer that has expertise and data behind it. That, to me, is what a healthy, transparent government looks like.