We're one of the only aldermanic districts where the property tax base is growing vigorously, and while development presents problems, it gives us an opportunity to be choosier. If you really want a development problem, go to parts of the city where people aren't willing to invest.

Unfortunately, the incumbent alderman and his staff have triggered a backlash to development because residents lost trust in the process for input because of a sense of favoritism and lack of transparency. I am not anti-development - the questions are what kind of development? Who does development serve?

My position is that development should always serve our values. My values include: full transparency and resident participation in decision-making; preserving livability and neighborhood character; and requiring community benefits when development projects benefit from public resources. Proposed projects should serve the values that have already been articulated in the draft Northeast Side Plan.

One of the central themes of my work as both a manager and a community organizer is accountability. I can promise you that as alderman my office will be accountable to those too often left out of the process. I pledge that my office will operate with complete transparency, will take advantage of any opportunity to communicate with my constituents, and will always work to achieve maximum consensus about major development decisions.

For example, if elected leaders really believed in the value of the Downer Avenue project, the decision could have addressed community and residents' concerns. Community buy-in and clear community benefits are essential when the City is using its power to make zoning changes. That power should not be used lightly. Our elected officials should foster projects that provide win-wins - especially when public resources are involved. Residents' concerns about the height and the damage to the character of the historic Downer Ave. area could have been resolved. Pushing the project through prematurely was wrong and I sincerely hope that District voters will hold the incumbent staff accountable for their role in it.

To be sure, I will fast-track neighborhood-friendly development proposals that meet the criteria identified above. I am especially interested in supporting the locally-owned businesses that first drew me to the East Side and Riverwest. I see the role of alderman as a convener who works to bring people together to a positive outcome, not to ram projects through prematurely, nor to cave to a few naysayers. The reason so many District business owners are supporting me is due to my commitment to harness the power of City Hall to defend and expand those who have made our District unique.