This Q&A is a part of Central Times’ 2025 city council election coverage. To see interviews with all candidates in the race, click here. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Why are you running for re-election to Naperville City Council?
Well, this is my third term, so I originally ran in 2017, really having an opportunity to make the community even better. Even as I speak today, my primary goal is to believe in Naperville, because I believe Naperville has an opportunity to reach its full potential. And you know, taking that as my motivating factor always leads to an incentive to do what we can to make the community even better. And a lot of that means that everyone feels valued and included in the community, and we strive to be the best we can be.
Can you tell me more about your personal and professional background and how it prepares you for this role?
I’m a retired Army officer, retired as a lieutenant colonel with 22 years. I am a West Point graduate. I have a master’s in Master of Science degree from Indiana, an MBA from Webster, and a DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) from Benedictine. So, education-wise, I’ve done a lot of stuff there, and I retired in the Army in 2008. Since then, I’ve been the department head for the JROTC at Joliet West High School. I’ve been doing that for 17 years.
What life experiences have shaped your perspective on local government and public service?
Well, after serving in my country for 22 years, I’ve been serving the community. I’ve lived here for 20 years now, but 13 of those years have been as an elected official. I was very involved in my kids’ school. Both of my kids graduated from Metea Valley, and I was approached to replace someone who left the school board, which I did. And once I was appointed there, I ran for office about a year later. So, I was on the Board of Education of 204, for five years, total. That’s what got me started in realizing I can make an impact. Being African American, I brought some diversity to both the school board as well as the city council. I think that’s helped our community — just the mere fact of having someone with different life experiences that can help lead and guide certain decisions. When it comes to that, I’m a big fan of diversity, equity and inclusion because I just think it makes our community that much better, and again, gives us that opportunity to reach our full potential.
What unique skills or insights would you bring to City Council?
Leadership. That’s my thing. I think I bring that above anything else. The military and the West Point experience, really helped shape my values. My doctorate itself has been values-driven leadership. So, I’ve expanded those skill sets even more so just by going through the doctoral studies and so on.
What are your long-term plans for Naperville, and what specific issues are you advocating for?
Well, a few things — sustainability is a big piece where most things really fall under. Now we can talk about environmental sustainability. We are at a point where our Illinois Municipal Electric Agency is trying to get us to renew a contract with them, and they’re trying to get us to do it five years earlier than we were supposed to. The majority of the electricity that they produce comes from coal, which is dirty. We own one of the eighth dirtiest coal plants in the country, so that’s a big decision we’re going to have to make there. My position really is to get the cleanest energy for the best price. So, that’s kind of where my starting point will be for that.
Housing options for our residents — now what people call it workforce housing. Naperville is consistently named the best city in America to live in, the number one city to raise a family, the best schools in the country, the safest city in America, but all the people that helped make Naperville what it is from that standpoint — teachers, firefighters, police officers, healthcare workers — most of them can’t afford to live here. I think that’s a shame. Teachers, firefighters, healthcare workers — people who help make Naperville what it is — should be able to afford to live here.
Our seniors are our fastest-growing demographic. A lot of people don’t realize that, and they can’t — they want to stay close to their grandkids, and a lot of them can’t afford to stay in Naperville. In fact, a lot of them would prefer to downsize, but that seems more expensive for them. That’s kind of where we are. And to the point, from a sustainability standpoint, if you don’t have housing options for people, you sustain your community. I’m kind of talking a lot here, but if our seniors are realizing the less expensive option is to stay in their home that they currently have, that home that normally is available to a young family coming in who wants to take advantage of our great schools starts to dry up a little bit, and again, sustainability.
And if you continue to do that, it becomes an issue. We’re the safest city in America, as I said. But lately, in public safety, we don’t have as many people applying for those positions. So, I can tell you, when I was on the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, we would have 800-plus people in an auditorium or gym who wanted to apply to be in law enforcement or firefighting in Naperville. That number has drastically dropped to, you know, at one point, I want to say it was around 35 right after COVID — probably a little over 100 right now. But as you can see, if we don’t have the pool of people to choose from, the quality of our police department and fire department can be at risk. Again, we want to sustain our public safety, and that becomes sustainability as well.