The RB Landmark sent questionnaires to each person running for public office in 2025. The Landmark’s questions are in bold and the candidate’s responses are below.
Political experience
None.
Community experience
I am Pack Master for my kids’ Cub Scout Pack (#33). I recently served three years on the advisory board at their school (St. Francis Xavier) where I chaired the Strategic Planning Committee.
How do you view the library’s role as a “third space” in Brookfield? What can it do better in that regard?
Our library is in the center of town and in many ways is the heart of Brookfield. The library is well designed and utilized. Our meeting rooms are heavily booked by community groups. Residents use our study rooms for meetings and as a place to work away from home. Every day after school you see kids flooding the children and teen spaces for lego sessions, STEM events, or yoga classes. Young parents connect at early literacy storytimes. It’s a rare day you don’t see older residents sitting upstairs at the windows overlooking Grand Avenue, drinking coffee and reading or talking with other patrons.
Looking towards the future, there is always the possibility of improvement. If we ever added on, I wouldn’t mind seeing more innovative space added. Perhaps a wood shop and a tool library.
What is your favorite library initiative or service? How do you make use of the library?
Silent Reading with Babysitting is phenomenal. Once a month the library stays open into the evening on a Friday. A youth librarian in the basement keeps kids occupied with a craft, snacks and a movie. Parents head upstairs to read or chat for a few hours. After a hectic week, it’s become my family’s favorite segue into the weekend. My kids also take advantage of a lot of the youth programming – Zumba and yoga classes. My wife and I use the study rooms when we’re working from home and need a kid free space to focus. I’m also a big fan of Title Wave, our book bike. Youth librarians bring crafts and story hour to locations throughout town. You can check out and return books at the Farmers’ Market in the summer. This year, Title Wave will be making appearances at block parties.
How would you respond to a growing book ban movement?
I am pro-book. Full stop. I will always oppose any outside effort to limit the books Brookfielders have access to through our library. I want the library to facilitate putting books into people’s hands. Our library board does have control over the material that is purchased for the library and a say in how that material is displayed. I think our staff does an excellent job of curating displays of books. The books that a library chooses to put on display do reflect community values, and I like that our library often features displays that showcase cultures or topics I may not be familiar with. Libraries are a place to expand your world.
What is the biggest challenge facing the library?
Our library is well run and appropriately funded. We have fantastic staff who are dedicated to the library and our community. The Friends & Foundation non-profit that supports the library is a thriving asset. While the library facilities are popular and well used, they’re right-sized based on current demand. If we need more space down the line, the new building was built to allow for an additional 9,000 square feet to be easily added onto the west side of the building. Bluntly, the library is in a good position and should continue to be an asset for Brookfield moving forward.
How does the library balance development and expansion with conserving tax dollars?
My share of the property taxes used to fund the library was $355.88 last year. I am confident it is being well spent. I have looked into the library’s finances. The library is run prudently and has a very healthy balance sheet.The library follows a 90% budgetary model, holding ten percent of what it collects in reserve. By statute, these funds can only be used to pay down debt (not a concern with our library) or for capital improvements. The only capital improvements on the radar is the purchase of the lot next door. The negotiated price is less than 10% of our capital budget. While the lot is intended for additional parking, construction will not be imminent. No project the library is currently considering will raise your taxes or impact the library’s operations budget.
Please add final thoughts not covered in this questionnaire. These responses may appear online.
I first ran for the board as I was tired of seeing Brookfield’s local races go uncontested. It’s always a bit disappointing being given the choice of four candidates to fill four seats. I am deeply excited to see eight candidates running this year. Local government matters. It says a lot about Brookfield that more people are willing to get involved. Running is my way of giving back to the community and if you choose me to be one of your board members, I will ensure the library continues to offer high value programming, while maintaining its prudent stewardship of our tax dollars.