“Growing up on a dirt road in a rural area, I have seen bad development decisions degrade the environment and community character. I want to do everything I can to keep that from happening in Jackson. We need to be more intentional with how our community evolves. It is going to take skill and experience to balance the pressing housing and business needs with protecting our precious water and environment.

I have twenty years of legal practice experience in the government, nonprofit, and private sectors. This includes working as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice in the Environment and Natural Resources Division and for Earthjustice. I am experienced with resolving complex disputes in a fair and effective manner. I speak the language of land use and government law. I have already been working with Town and County leadership and staff on policy issues daily as a clean water advocate.

I work hard to truly understand different points of view, which allows me to make balanced and reasoned decisions. Town Council is a team sport, not an individual sport. To be effective, a majority of Town Council Members need to be rowing in the same direction. My experience and temperament will help me work effectively with the other Council Members and key partners to make good decisions.

My priorities include:
• Protecting clean water and the environment, including water that is safe to drink in our entire community and waters that are safe to swim in without the threat of E. coli.
• Providing transportation and traffic solutions, including permanent and workable service to the airport.
• Balancing economic and housing solutions, including seeing the 90 Virginian Lane development to the finish line.

I am proud to be a Democrat and hope to represent my fellow Democrats on Town Council!
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“Community First

Hi! I’m Perri. I have lived in Jackson full time for nearly 8 years, and have been part of the Valley for over 35 years. I live in the “Rodeo Grounds North” neighborhood. I became a community organizer by happenstance, about 6 years ago. At the time, I learned of the zoning changes and density increases that were targeted for certain parts of town and I became concerned. I canvassed our neighborhood, talked with people, explained what I thought was happening and got their perspectives. Since that time, I have become increasingly involved with issues in town pertaining to overdevelopment and its far-reaching effects on our town.

I’m running for town council because I believe our town needs a new vision. Jackson needs to grow responsibly, while maintaining its unique town character. We need to keep the proliferation of hotels and luxury condos in check. We need to focus on the people who sustain Jackson and build their lives here.

I believe our Town Council needs to drive a thoughtful approach that permits reasonable development but prioritizes the natural resources, wildlife habitats and historic characteristics that have made Jackson so unique but are now slipping away. Our town needs to grow, but despite all the “planning” that we do, we don’t have a vision of what we want our town to be over the next 30 years. We need a serious re-set and course correction. We need to set limits and make hard decisions that may not be politically convenient. We need to set higher standards and have higher expectations as our community looks to the future.

My Priorities

1. Responsible Development: Any development needs to have minimal impact on our environment and ensure that wildlife habitat and water quality are protected for future generations. We also need to anticipate and mitigate traffic impacts of any development and ensure that we have the essential infrastructure to support any new and existing projects.

2. Community Centered, Community First: We must do a much better job of working with our neighborhoods and their residents. We must prioritize the preservation, restoration and repurposing of historic structures and retain their landscapes. We must enhance our social and human services capacities to meet the needs of all residents.

3. Fiscal Responsibility: Funding our town’s essential services is a big challenge. We need a better way to ensure that we are able to fund the quality and quantity of services that our community needs and expects. I’d like to see Town conduct a thorough assessment of all expenditures and determine where we can be more efficient. Let’s move away from the divisive rhetoric and grandstanding that has dominated negotiations with our colleagues at the County

4. Affordable Housing Solutions: I am a true champion of affordable housing, but the reality is that housing is a long-term problem. We need to move away from our reactionary “crisis” approach that has resulted in too many 400 square foot UNITS and not enough real HOMES where families can live and grow and stay for the long term.

We need to move away from the “heads in beds” philosophy of the past several years and use creative strategies to address the long-term affordable housing issues in our town. We need to prioritize the restoration and repurposing of existing structures rather than having our first response be “build more”.
Other housing issues need to be addressed: For example: rework or eliminate the highly problematic “workforce” designation, create ways to help people who are “stuck” in the middle – making too much money to qualify for an affordable home but not enough to afford the price tag of a market rate starter home.
Join me! Vote Perri Stern for Town Council. Website:perriforcouncil.com
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