A Community Worth Belonging To
I know what community feels like because I grew up in one. On Riverside Drive, none of us were wealthy or belonged to a country club, but we had everything a kid needs. A close-knit group of friends. Neighbors who knew each other. Parks and schools you could walk to.
Every summer, I spent my days at Keller Park, where the City of South Bend hired local college kids to run activities all day long. I played softball, tennis, and games with a racially diverse group of kids from every socioeconomic background in the neighborhood. The Keller Klogs softball team traveled across the city to play teams from every other South Bend park. It was a lifesaver for my mom. She knew where I was and that I was doing something productive. I haven't seen a program like that at Keller Park since.
We want that same thing in District C. We want to know our neighbors, support each other, and feel like we belong to something bigger than our subdivision. But right now, there's nowhere to direct that energy. Granger has no center. No community recreation space. No gathering place that isn't a strip mall parking lot.
What We'll Do Together
Invest in belonging infrastructure:
A community center and recreation facilities, including the town pool Granger has never had
Parks and trails that connect our neighborhoods instead of walling them off
Events and programs that give our families a reason to show up and meet each other
Push for quality jobs, not just job counts. Locally-owned businesses, living wages, and union shops that let our families build a life here. Granger isn't just a bedroom community. It has history, and it deserves an identity and economy that reflect that.
Support our older residents and caregivers. I moved back to Granger to be near my mother, Theresa, who recently celebrated her 96th birthday. I understand the caregiving reality personally. We need to fight for:
Transportation options so our seniors aren't stuck at home
Day care access so families aren't choosing between a paycheck and caring for an aging parent
Predictable costs on utilities and property taxes so people on fixed incomes aren't blindsided by the next spike
Deliver on basic services. None of the bigger vision works if the fundamentals aren't covered. Roads, drainage, public safety, the things we count on every day.
Why It Matters. Green spaces reduce crime. Community connections reduce isolation. Places to gather give us the relationships and information we're currently trying to piece together from Nextdoor posts and half-stories. When we know each other, we look out for each other. That's safety. That's quality of life.
I've spent my whole career helping communities find their identity and build something worth belonging to. I'm grounded in Catholic Social Teaching and a commitment to justice and the marginalized. That's the lens I bring. Not a slogan about taxes. A plan to plug into. A community worth staying in, worth fighting for, and worth building together.
