Tackling the Cost of Living & the Middle-Class Squeeze

A community that can't house its own essential workers isn't sustainable. The teachers who educate our children, the nurses who staff our hospitals, the first responders who keep our neighborhoods safe are the people who make our neighborhoods function every single day. They deserve to live here, not commute from somewhere they can actually afford.

I will advocate for increased funding for attainable housing programs and work to incentivize developers to build units that working families purchase, not just luxury units or rentals. 

We don't always need to build something new to make a difference. Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is get more out of what we've already invested in together.

Mayor Jenny Wilson showed us exactly how this can work. The "My County Rec Pass" program opened up free recreation center access to county youth. We didn't spend money on new facilities, it was just creative thinking that delivered real relief to real families. 

As your Council Member, I will actively search for similar opportunities: underutilized county assets, existing programs that could reach more people, and partnerships that stretch our resources further. 

 The wave of child care closures hitting Salt Lake County is heartbreaking for families and an economic emergency. When parents can't find reliable, affordable care, they can't show up to work. When they can't show up to work, our entire regional economy suffers.

This is a solvable problem, but it requires the county to get serious I will work alongside city and state leaders, nonprofits, and private partners to incentivize the creation of new, cost-effective child care options across the district. I will also push to cut through the bureaucratic red tape that makes it unnecessarily hard for providers to open their doors and stay in business.

The cost of living crisis isn't only about mortgage payments or rent; it's about the slow, grinding accumulation of smaller costs that adds up month after month. Getting to work and back. Groceries. After-school activities. These things hit working families hardest.

I'll look for county-level programs and partnerships that can provide direct, tangible relief to families who are stretched thin. This could be discounted transit passes, fee waivers for county services, or connecting residents to assistance programs they didn't know existed.