“I’ve lived and worked in many places before landing here (California, Texas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania), and I genuinely find Urbana the most delightful place to work and live out of all of them.”
That was one of the first things that Deborah Liu had to say when asked about her run for the Ward 3 seat on the Urbana City Council. The U of I Materials Science PhD student says that there is so much to be done in Urbana, and she wants to elevate the level of discourse in the City Council.
Liu pointed out that the City Council frequently spends inordinate amounts of time talking about minutiae and that the bigger issues of road safety, policing, and small business development need greater attention.
“I think the current model of city government in Urbana is grossly inefficient. Council and staff time is spent on trivial things during council meetings…and the agenda seems to be mostly set by the mayor. My concern is that the city council would be content to debate banalities, rather than having vision for a better Urbana.”
Liu listed the following priorities:
- Think Urbana first. Support our local small businesses- they are the heart of our growing city! When they thrive, we thrive.
- Sensible land use. Create smart and eco-friendly zoning ordinances. They’re good for the planet, good for the city’s bottom line and would make Urbana a better place to live.
- Safe streets. No matter how you choose to move around our city, it should be safe, convenient and enjoyable. I support improved sidewalks & bike lanes, safe routes to school, and road design that gets us to Vision Zero (zero deaths and serious injuries from traffic crashes).
- Different policing. The most vulnerable individuals in our community need empathy and help, not violence. Please talk to me about how you think policing needs to change in our city.
Liu has been speaking at Urbana meetings in regards to police reform and land zoning. In Ward 3, Liu imagines a less restrictive zoning approach that would allow for mixed-use and incremental development. She noted that the north end of Urbana is a food desert and a more relaxed zoning approach would allow for things like small neighborhood grocery stores.
In Ward 3, Deborah Liu will face incumbent Shirese Hursey in the Democratic Primary. Hursey was appointed to the Ward 3 seat by Mayor Diane Marlin in January 2019 after the previous Ward 3 Alderman, Aaron Ammons, won the Champaign County Clerk seat.
The primary election for Mayor, City Clerk, Township Assessor, Township Supervisor, and Alderman in the seven City Wards in Urbana will be held on February 23rd, and the general election on April 6th.
You can read more about Deborah Liu’s campaign on her Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/DeborahLiuforUrbanaWard3/
-Christopher Hansen, Urbana