I'm a mama, wife, teacher, community activist, environmentalist, Christian, Mexican American 45 year old woman. I frequent the OC Board of County Commissioners meetings  requesting that our Mayor & Commissioners listen to the people on issues mostly pertaining to: equitable policy making, quality of life, sustainable development, and the environment. I am the Vice Chair for Save Orange County, Inc., the Co-Chair of the District 5 Neighborhood Advisory Council, recipient of the 2021 District 5 Orange County Citizen of the Year, and was an appointed member of the OC 2021 Redistricting Committee. I have a PhD in Tourism & Hospitality Management specializing in social and economic development for  environmentally sensitive tourism destinations. I have a PhD in tourism and hospitality management from UCF and am a UCF professor for revenue and risk management. I sued OC with 5 other residents for urban sprawl. We won in court.  Orange County did worse than nothing. They fought against the people with our taxpayer dollars and went to Tallahassee with the developers' attorneys to ask the Governor to overturn the judge's recommended order. 

 

I believe that our local government must play a primary role in guaranteeing OC residents' quality of life. This means our Mayor must ensure that at the heart of the county's planning and development framework lies initiative and action to improve the quality of life for OC residents. Through this lens, it means our OC government must consider how each residential and commercial development will contribute to our residents' lives be it with safety, the right to affordable housing, roads that work, mass transit access, high quality schools, access to green space and clean water, professional and educational opportunities, access to health services, impact on environment, and beyond. 

 

I believe that guaranteeing improved quality of life means that we must also guarantee that we acknowledge existence of and remove systematic barriers that prevent the consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment, such as Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality. 

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I believe that we are only as healthy as our environment. We cannot continue to build and pave over Orange County. We must be good stewards to our land and wetlands by ensuring healthy ecosystems with healthy soil, clean water and air, and that we restore biological diversity and protect it.  We must protect our wildlife and preserve their habitat. 

When the last tree has been cut,

When the last river has been poisoned,

When the last fish caught,

We will learn that we cannot eat our money.

- Cree Proverb

I am in this election for people and the environment. I'll fight for you if you will help fight for policy reform that we all need to improve quality of life, ensure equity, and protect our environment. I want to hear from you: PM/text/call Kelly 407-233-5375