Growth That Pays The Community Back
St. Joseph County has been betting big on mega data centers owned by outside corporations. Tax breaks flow out, jobs are few, and the whole bet rides on an industry that could shift overnight. Meanwhile, our working families can't find childcare. Our seniors have no affordable options to stay in the community. Our young professionals can't afford starter homes. The cost of living keeps climbing, and people are stuck wondering when the next shoe drops.
I've seen what happens when a community puts all its chips on one industry. I grew up watching it with Studebaker in South Bend. As a kid visiting family in East Chicago, I saw the toll heavy industry and pollution took on working families when nobody set terms for development. We can't let that happen here.
What We'll Do Together
Set clear community terms for development. We push for local hiring commitments, conservation investments, and a real return for the tax breaks we hand out. If growth doesn't pay the community back, the deal isn't good enough.
Maximize jobs per acre, not just acreage. We fight for policies that advantage locally-owned businesses and union shops, the kind that stay here and invest here instead of extracting profits and leaving.
Fight for a living wage. I worked at Burger King during summers to put myself through college, riding my bike from Riverside Drive to US 31. I know what minimum wage feels like, and I know it's not enough. We deserve an increase so working families can actually keep up.
Build what we actually need:
Affordable housing for all generations, from starter homes to senior living so our aging parents don't have to leave Granger
Reliable, affordable childcare and senior day care, because our families are stretched thin and caregivers are burning out
These aren't extras. They're the foundation.
Protect our environment. We don't support growth that comes at the cost of the land and water that make this place worth living in. In Arizona, I chaired Arizona Forward, a nonpartisan coalition that brought together business and civic leaders to tackle water costs, conservation, and sustainable development policy. I took that work to Capitol Hill. I'll bring the same fight here for us.
Why Me. My track record proves this works. In Tucson, I helped generate over $3 billion in private investment by using planning and leverage to set clear public terms for downtown development. The same thinking applies here. Show what's possible, set clear asks, and push decision-makers to meet them.
Growth is coming whether we like it or not. The question is whether everyday people see any of the benefit, or whether there's only one winner. We're going to make sure it's more than one.
