Record & Achievements

When I first took office, White Bluff was largely reacting to development proposals as they arrived. My goal was to help move us toward a more deliberate system—one with clearer standards, stronger protections, and better long-term planning.

I initially considered a broad rezoning moratorium, but after studying what would legally and practically be required, I chose a different approach: strengthen the rules themselves. Rather than simply stopping growth, I worked to help White Bluff better control what kind of growth occurs, where it occurs, and what standards developers must meet.

I helped push White Bluff toward clearer, more predictable development standards so we would no longer have to search for reasons to reject poor projects after they arrived.

During my first term, the Town strengthened or revised standards involving traffic impacts, planned unit developments, parking, access, open space, landscaping, zoning, and development design. The goal was simple: create rules that filter out low-quality development before it becomes a problem.

As data centers began becoming a major land-use issue across Tennessee and surrounding communities, I did not want White Bluff to wait until an application was already sitting in front of us before deciding how these facilities should be regulated.

I pushed for a temporary moratorium on data-center development while the Town worked through appropriate regulations.

Unlike an indefinite moratorium intended simply to stop development, this was exactly how I believe a moratorium should be used: for a defined purpose, while government actively develops the rules necessary to address a new and rapidly changing type of land use.

Behind the scenes, I have also been heavily involved in researching and developing ideas for regulations addressing the potential impacts of data centers so White Bluff can make informed decisions before those pressures arrive at our doorstep.

The goal is not to prohibit new technology or economic development simply because it is unfamiliar. The goal is to understand the consequences first and establish reasonable protections before a project is proposed—not after it is already too late to react.

One of my early priorities was requiring larger developments to account for the traffic they create.

If a development materially changes traffic patterns or creates the need for road improvements, I believe those impacts should be identified before the project is built—not discovered after residents are already sitting in congestion.

Those efforts helped lead to stronger traffic-study guidelines and a more deliberate approach to evaluating development impacts.

I strongly supported White Bluff’s Woodland Protection standards and additional open-space requirements.

I believe development should work with the land whenever reasonably possible rather than simply clearing everything and rebuilding from scratch. Trees, green space, landscaping, and thoughtful design are part of preserving the character that makes White Bluff feel like White Bluff.

Planned Unit Developments can be valuable when they are designed properly. They can mix uses, create walkability, preserve open space, and allow development to fit the land more naturally.

But flexibility should not mean a blank check.

I supported stronger standards governing PUDs, density, access, parking, landscaping, open space, and other development requirements so these projects work for the town as well as the developer.

I have consistently pushed White Bluff to think beyond the next development or the next road project.

Our long-range mobility planning is intended to identify future road connections and alternate routes before development makes those options impossible. As new areas grow, developers can then help construct pieces of a larger transportation network rather than forcing every new neighborhood onto the same few existing roads.

My goal is what I often call “unnoticed growth”—allowing White Bluff to gain residents, businesses, services, and opportunity without allowing traffic and congestion to fundamentally change the small-town experience.

I recognized that White Bluff needed a clear framework for short-term rentals (STRs), rather than leaving property owners without established guidelines or waiting until problems arose before addressing them.

I supported establishing regulations that recognized homeowners' ability to use their property for short-term rentals while creating reasonable standards to protect neighboring properties and the community. Establishing this framework also gave the Town a foundation that could be refined over time as circumstances changed.

Importantly, the ordinance also created an opportunity for White Bluff to receive revenue associated with short-term rentals through Tennessee's hotel and motel occupancy tax system. This meant the Town could benefit financially from an activity that was already becoming increasingly common, while providing property owners with clearer expectations.

My goal was straightforward: protect property rights, establish reasonable rules before problems develop, and create an additional revenue opportunity for White Bluff without raising property-tax rates.

Roads are one of the core responsibilities of local government, and I believe they should be managed with the same kind of long-term planning we expect in every other major area of town operations.

That means fixing today’s problems while also planning ahead for future traffic, maintenance, and growth.

Potholes are one of the most visible and frustrating problems residents deal with, yet road repairs can easily get lost inside broader budgets.

I pushed for a dedicated budget line specifically for pothole repair so the Town has money set aside for that purpose instead of waiting until road conditions become bad enough to force an emergency response.

That funding is intended to give the Street Department a more predictable way to respond after winter weather and continue addressing existing road damage throughout the year.

I have consistently argued that White Bluff cannot wait until traffic is already bad before planning future roads.

As new neighborhoods and commercial areas develop, we need to know where future connections should go so each project can contribute to a larger road network rather than forcing more traffic onto the same few existing routes.

That is why I pushed for long-range mobility and major thoroughfare planning: to identify future road connections, alternate routes, and transportation needs before development removes those options.

The goal is simple—allow White Bluff to grow without making it feel harder and harder just to get across town.

I believe infrastructure should be managed before failure forces our hand.

Whether we are talking about roads, traffic flow, drainage, vehicles, or other long-term needs, the Town should be identifying predictable expenses and future capacity problems before they become emergencies.

That same philosophy has guided my approach to road maintenance, future connections, development impacts, and capital planning: plan early, budget deliberately, and avoid forcing future councils and taxpayers to clean up problems we can already see coming.

Not every important vote fits neatly into a headline.

Some decisions require context, especially when the responsible choice is not the easiest one to explain in a sound bite. Below are several votes from my first term that deserve a fuller explanation.

I voted against the proposed increase because I did not believe the Council had been given enough information to justify asking taxpayers for more money.

At the time, the Council was being presented with a budget without a clear picture of what our department heads had actually requested or what needs had been removed before the budget reached us.

My position was simple: if I am going to vote to take more money from taxpayers, I need to know exactly why it is necessary.

I was not willing to approve an increase based on incomplete information.

The following year, the circumstances were different.

After the Town had to draw from reserves, I pushed for the Council to see more clearly what our department heads were actually requesting.

Once those needs were laid out, it became apparent that White Bluff had fallen behind in several areas. Police compensation was lagging surrounding jurisdictions. Vehicles needed replacement. Fire equipment had been deferred. Security and technology needs had accumulated.

At that point, I believed continuing to postpone those expenses would have been less responsible than addressing them.

I do not believe “never raising taxes” is automatically the same thing as fiscal responsibility. Sometimes keeping a rate artificially low simply pushes necessary expenses into the future, where they become larger and more disruptive.

My standard is the same in both cases: show me the need, show me the numbers, and let me determine whether the expense is justified.

I voted against the 2025–2026 budget because I believed it was financially unsustainable as presented.

The budget was projected to spend more than the Town expected to bring in, effectively relying on stronger-than-expected revenue to close the gap.

Thankfully, sales-tax collections ultimately performed better than projected and helped offset that concern. But I do not believe responsible budgeting should depend on hoping revenues outperform the assumptions used to build the budget.

My objection was not that every expense in the budget was unnecessary. It was that I believed the Town should begin with a budget that is structurally sound on the numbers available at the time.

By 2026, White Bluff was in a different position than it had been two years earlier.

In 2024, the Council had dealt with many of the more urgent and obvious needs that had been deferred for years—public safety equipment, staffing, vehicles, technology, and other major operational issues.

The 2026 budget was more about addressing the next layer of needs that had received less attention while those larger priorities were being handled.

That included areas such as parks, paving, facilities, and other quality-of-life and maintenance needs that still mattered, even if they were not as urgent as police, fire, and core operations.

I supported using some of the Town’s reserves for those purposes because reserves exist to serve the community—not simply to accumulate indefinitely while Town assets deteriorate.

At the same time, I continued pushing for clear priorities, targeted spending, and long-term planning so those investments would not become an excuse for careless budgeting.

I do not believe property taxes should automatically go up every year.

My approach is numbers-driven.

When expenses increase, sales-tax revenue is flat, and the Town genuinely needs additional revenue to maintain essential services, I am willing to consider an increase.

But the opposite should also be true.

In 2026, the numbers gave us room to reduce the property-tax rate. It was only a one-cent reduction, but I supported it because the principle matters: taxpayers should benefit when the Town’s financial position allows it.

My long-term goal is to continue strengthening White Bluff’s sales-tax base so more of the Town’s revenue can come from local economic activity rather than placing more pressure on property owners.

Ideally, stronger sales-tax collections will allow us to keep property-tax rates stable—or reduce them when the numbers support it.

I opposed allowing the Town to purchase a new electric vehicle without first bringing the decision back before the Council.

My concern was not simply that the vehicle was electric. My concern was whether the particular vehicle being considered made operational and financial sense for the Town.

Government should not buy equipment because it is trendy, novel, or attached to available funding. The question should always be whether the equipment actually fits the department’s needs, whether the long-term costs make sense, and whether taxpayers are receiving real value.

I made the motion requiring that no new vehicle be purchased as an EV without prior Council approval.