I grew upon the south side of Chicago, but Madison made me the person I am. I came here to attend UW and got involved in progressive movement organizing early on, learned about US empire, worked at several cooperative businesses including the Rainbow Bookstore Coop, and then got involved in the Marquette Neighborhood Association where I learned about city politics. I served as President of the Board until I ran for Council. I also worked for state government until retiring last spring from the Department of Revenue. I was a proud member of AFSCME Local 1. I am currently working as an LTE for the Department of Revenue as a tax specialist.

I love taking photographs, reading, preserving historic buildings, and promoting public art. I participated in a community campaign to successfully landmark and save the Women’s Building from demolition. The beautiful art deco building on W Gilman St was the home to Madison’s Progressive era feminist movement. I got interested in planning efforts in my neighborhood to revitalize E Washington Ave, start a new Tax Increment District, and construct Madison’s first skatepark in the new McPike Park. After I was elected alder in 2007 to represent the old District 6, I spent almost a decade finding a developer to rehab the historic Garver Feed Mill.

I’ve been a feminist and eco-socialist for my entire adult life. I was a co-founder of Progressive Dane which has elected generations of representatives to push for progressive policy at the city, county, and school board level since 1992. I am proud to have received their nomination again. Like thousands of other people, I joined the Democratic Socialists of America when Bernie Sanders ran for President in 2016. I am involved in the local DSA chapter, and I am also a member of Solidarity, a socialist, feminist, anti-racist organization.

I take the long view, but we are running out of time. We need to build labor and community power to survive the looming ecological collapse and transform a capitalist economic system that impoverishes, exploits, and murders so many people and plunders and despoils the planet. Since 2020, we have also seen unprecedented strike activity and fightback by women, LGBTQIA people and the black freedom movement.

Building community power and resilience at the local level is the best way I know to make a better world.