Home

I’ve been a Topeka District 1 resident for 47 years.  I retired in 2007, and have been serving on the Topeka City Council since 2009.

I know all aspects of our community deeply, and it’s been both hard work and a lot of fun to not only fix long-standing problems in our city, but also to get excitement and energy going for the present and for the future.

I built and ran the nonprofit organization Housing and Credit Counseling, Inc. which continues to bring to Topeka $500,000 in jobs and services to our community annually.

I’ve led neighborhood revitalization projects as part of the Topeka TurnAround Team, including the Aaron Douglas Mural, the Aaron Douglas Art Fair and the Washburn-Lane Parkway. The mural project was completely funded privately and it has become an icon of Topeka’s reawakening.  The Art Fair, also totally privately funded, is now in its 12th year and has produced artists and spirit beyond anyone’s expectations. The Parkway lighting project leveraged over $2 million, saw crime drop immediately after the lights went in, within 2 years saw $2.3 million in private reinvestment along the Parkway, and the city’s investment has already been paid back.

I’ve demonstrated excellence in pulling people together, openness, fairness, budgeting and getting results.

I am a homeowner and parent. My grown sons Bryan, Michael and Neil are now starting their own lives.  They thrived being raised in our home, in Topeka’s schools and in this community.  It is my top priority to provide that opportunity to other children and families as well.