Mary’s Priorities

A diversity of housing that blends affordable, workforce, and market-rate housing that will promote a diverse, livable community. 

Investing in small, local businesses.

Rather than looking to other places for talent, North Miami needs to build our own. Our children should be the next leaders in business, industry, and government. But that only happens if we make it happen.

Programs like the Police Explorers should be producing North Miami’s next generation of police officers. We need to expand summer internships for high school age students to work in every department of the city and have the chance to learn and grow.

We need to create incentives for our local businesses to hire North Miami residents whenever possible so that we are making North Miami a community where people can live, work, play, and most of all, a community that creates the next generation of success.

Our senior citizens deserve to enjoy the retirement they have earned. Our senior programs need to offer daily activities that keep them smiling and keep them in our community. No one should be left alone.

At the same time, our seniors are a resource of knowledge that we must tap into. Bridging the gap between our seniors and our youth can help to educate the next generation and prepare them for a successful future.

In 2015, the City of North Miami updated to the comprehensive plan to raise the height limit West Dixie Highway to make it more conducive to development and redevelopment which has so much potential. I have listened for so many years as people have talked about it. I’m prepared to do something about it. I’m not looking to attract more big box stores. I’m looking to attract restaurants, workforce housing, and the kinds of local hot spots that have built areas in South Florida into successes.

Electric vehicles are the way of the future. As their cost levels off, we should be looking at ways to transition our city’s fleet away from gas and into electric in a cost-effective manner.

Water and electricity are two things that everyone is accustomed to paying for. Too often, candidates lie to voters by promising to lower water rates. I know that isn’t likely to happen. What we can do is to educate our residents on water and power saving solutions and offer incentives for them. We can provide rebates on water saving toilets, heaters, and shower heads. We can provide residents with surge protectors that reduce power consumption for items that are not always in use, but stay plugged in such as toasters and televisions. If we lead with our values, we can help people save money and lessen our carbon footprint.

North Miami should follow the lead of cities like San Francisco by creating a three-tier refuse program. Trash, which ends up in landfills, recycling for items like paper, plastic, and aluminum, and yard & food waste, which can be composted and sold as fertilizer. Investment in these programs can foster good habits that save money and save our planet.

Sea level rise is real and it is likely to be the greatest threat to our children’s generation if we don’t act in a quick and meaningful way. We must update our building codes, invest in resiliency, and because we know that we cannot take on this crisis alone, we must be the vocal leaders at the county, state, and federal levels to hold their feet to the fire to take the action needed before it is too late.

Enough is Enough! No More Wasteful spending! Our city budget is an expression of our priorities. My first priority is the people who live here. We don’t need more parties, we need more parks. We need more water-saving incentives that will keep your bill down.

It starts in parks! Cagni park was promised to the residents of North Miami. I am determind that Cargni Park will be delivered to the residents of North Miami by 2021. Our children deserve a world-class park to utilize.

Common sense gun laws are supported by the vast majority of Americans. Because of the NRA’s stranglehold on some of our politicians, we can’t get them passed into law. Right now, the State of Florida makes it illegal for local governments to pass the kinds of common sense gun laws we need. As your councilwoman, I will fight in Tallahassee to regain local control and push for stronger laws at the state level.

People see buildings. But it is what people don’t see until they are up close that sparks quality development. Our streets, sidewalks, water and sewer systems, and landscaping not only add value to our neighborhoods, they attract growth. If we want to attract quality, we must lay a foundation of quality.

North Miami is a community of people from all over the world. We should celebrate and embrace our diversity and utilize it to learn from one another.