Empowered and Engaged Voices

In many ways, local government is something we take for granted. That’s a good thing when it’s working well. Good local governance can feel invisible: services function, our economy grows, and communities thrive.

But when things go wrong, or when people feel left out of the process, it becomes hard to know how to engage, especially for those who haven’t been involved before. That’s why it’s important to stay engaged even when we’re generally satisfied with how things are going. Trust and transparency don’t build themselves. The relationship between people and their government requires care and effort, especially in times of change.

As a professor at Lenoir-Rhyne, I’ve worked to connect the university with the broader Hickory community by creating and teaching free public courses, hosting open forums, and offering educational opportunities on issues that matter to our residents. If elected, I would bring these same skills as an educator into local government: breaking down complex issues, encouraging civic participation, and building spaces for honest, productive dialogue.

In conversations leading up to this campaign, I’ve heard over and over again that people care about their city, but they don’t always understand how decisions are made or how to influence them. That’s not a failing on their part — it’s a gap we can close.

To help address that gap as a city councilor, I will:

• Build trust through short explainer videos demystifying how local decisions are made and how residents can get involved
• Hold regular listening sessions that aim to foster fruitful dialogue across differences

My background in social psychology helps me understand why we often struggle to bridge divides and what we can do about it. Today, politics often functions like a team sport, where we’re told to root for the red or the blue jersey. I choose a different path. I am politically independent, not because I lack strong beliefs, but because I refuse to define those beliefs by party label. Our focus should be on the ball, not the uniform.

We need strong communities where we think of one another as neighbors, not opponents. I’m not running to tear down. I’m running to build a more connected, engaged, and resilient Hickory.