Tell me
issues.
Your
I want to know what matters to YOU.
Issues.
My
These are a few of the things that are important to me.
Front-Line Safety
Safety ensures our government keeps working for us. I believe the people that help keep us safe, should be kept safe.
The Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) has been an effective evidence-based way to divert people with a mental health crisis from jail and into the care they need, benefiting them and the community at large. This not only leads to better outcomes for the individual but decreases the jail population as well. Law enforcement overwhelmingly supports the use of CSUs because it is a tool in their toolbelt. The Washington County CSU has been closed for almost a year. I want to make sure this never happens again.
I believe the county should invest in other similar evidence-based diversion and rehabilitation programs to decrease the jail population and therefore relieve pressure on our current jail staff. We have a completed jail assessment that recommends these types of programs specifically for Washington County. It has largely been ignored by current County officials. I want to put it into action.
Congregate settings such as jails are not only one of the most dangerous places to be regarding COVID infection but also for workplace violence. Working in these settings is dangerous to the health and safety of law enforcement officers. I understand this issue because healthcare workers’ rates of workplace violence and burnout mirror that of law enforcement according to OSHA. I not only support decreasing the jail population via evidence-based methods to protect staff’s health but am also in favor of incentives to recruit and retain more staff. This will in turn decrease the rising amount of Workers’ Comp claims filed by our County employees. I will support our Corrections Officers.
We not only need communication between different area law enforcement agencies but better communication within each individual force. I fully support funding for desperately needed communications equipment such as radios and will also lead the charge to fulfill our State required obligation to fingerprint.
A report from the National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum found that COVID-19 was the leading cause of death among law enforcement in 2021. We need leaders that have a common-sense, non-invasive plan for safety during high-transmission surges of COVID-19.
I am that leader.
Local Strength
Arkansas is home.
Washington County is where we live and work and play.
District 15 has grown so much in the last decade. The population of Elkins has grown almost 66% since the last census!
Currently, the Quorum Court is not focusing on supporting growth, rather they are focused on proclamations and pointed opinions that do not represent the whole of Washington County.
We need elected officials who will listen to the people they represent.
I am that listener.
Fact-Based Decision Making
Nursing is an evidence-based practice. The way nurses provide care changes and evolves as the evidence or facts show what is better for our patients. It’s easy to make decisions based on emotion or pressure from outside entities. Nurses don’t do easy, we do what’s best to serve others even though change is hard. The facts of how issues affect the residents of Washington County should be the basis for decision making.
I am that decision maker.
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