Travis' Vision

“I remember a time when all I heard was ‘people were the power’ and that many of our circumstances came down to economics. I know firsthand that to get to a better place we need to bring people to the table and build coalitions to foster change and create opportunity.”

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Employment, Economic Recovery & Growth

  • Support a living wage
  • Micro business opportunities
  • Reference based lending
  • Green energy employment
  • Understanding the new normal
  • Childcare
  • Supporting unions

Travis knows that our community needs a plan for recovery now.

“As I sit here thinking about the families I’ve served, the extended family that is our district, I cannot help but think about the employment issues that have plagued Black, Brown and low-income families; how transportation needs have gotten worse for those same families and how quality day care has become one of the counties number one issues for these very same families.”

Travis knows from years of dealing with childcare, trying different programs to alleviate this need for caregivers, this is one of the most challenging issues in this community and one of the most challenging issues around employment and economic recovery. Without childcare there is no recovery for our families. Without childcare the mothers in our community will continue to leave the workforce. We cannot wait and hope for a solution, we must create one.

B.O.X. (Based On ‘X’) Housing in the flats

Housing based on your X and your why. Based on your individual needs and situation and which boxes are checked

  • Create 150 units in 3 years
  • Building additions on existing properties
  • Funding through consortium of banks, private lenders and grants–AFCU is interested in this concept

Travis believes that a collaborative solution can always be found when all of the stakeholders come together. Affordable, accessible, clean, and safe housing should be attainable. IURA, lending institutions, County and City officials, sustainability community, home owners, county assessment office, city building department, city economic development, Cornell, and the green new deal director should be involved.

“It’s to time create opportunities within the community for housing solutions that make sense”

 

Build community and uplift families through creating coalitions

  • Uniting county, city, business community, and nonprofit agencies to innovate and solve problems

  • Community listening intensives

  • Intentional and deliberative problem solving

    Travis knows how to meet families where they are, and work with them to enrich their families and our community, he’s been doing it for over 20 years.

    “I remember meeting with our administration team to figure out how to feed dinner to our children during the after-school program and creating “50 served” that fed children twice a week. We built it out to a place where the summer camp kids were fed breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner.”

    Improving Quality of Life 

     

    • Ensure new developments on the West end and West hill have components that benefit the disenfranchised 
    • Develop sustainable efforts to help programs that are currently doing work for this population
    • Increase the school district’s presence in West Village and Chestnut

      When a town is broken up by economics, communities are broken up neighbors are separated and the sense of connectivity and shared experience is lost. Everyday quality of life is the responsibility of every elected official. We need to be creative in our solutions

      “I watched the transition of the neighborhoods around GIAC and Southside change as lesser means families were forced from downtown up on the hills and outskirts so landlords could charge obscene amounts of rent for a bedroom. How many of you remember on an early Spring day remember walking from the North to the South and seeing everyone you knew? How many of you remember all the Black and Brown babies walking home from BJM, GIAC and Southside?”