Ready to run, ready to win!

Welcome to my campaign! I am a lifelong Democrat, and I am running to represent you as your City-wide council representative. Community, commitment, collaboration, and consensus—those four ingredients, I feel, are necessary to successfully serve the residents of Plainfield. For my entire adult life, I have worked for the betterment of the Plainfield community—as an elected leader as well as by serving as a volunteer.

I have a proven record of leadership as a citywide public servant in Plainfield. While in my twenties, I ran for and won a seat on the Plainfield Board of Education, where I served for ten years as an elected member. As a member of the board, I attended the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Urban Superintendents Program Internship Seminar, where I was honored to serve as a panelist on "Urban Education and Parent Leadership." 


Also during my board tenure, I successfully campaigned for community passage of a $33 million bond to build Washington Community School and worked with the local unions to fairly negotiate differences and completely avoid strikes. I also led the successful struggle to get the tennis courts named after Plainfield’s legendary Donald Van Blake, our most ardent advocate of youth tennis.

I worked for fifteen years as the Director of Housing Services for the Plainfield Area YMCA, working directly with our residents as well as other supportive housing organizations and neighborhood stakeholders to help meet the housing needs of all those in our community. I also served as a Commissioner of the Plainfield Housing Authority. I was recognized for 20 years of service as a volunteer with Plainfield’s Habitat for Humanity. I am a longtime member of the League of Women Voters of Plainfield, where I served a term as chapter president. 

I have been politically active all my life, supporting the efforts of a number of successful local officials, including the late Al McWilliams, for past council members Rayland Van Blake, Ray Blanco, Linda Carter, and for current council representatives Cory Storch (with whom I served on the school board), Annie McWilliams, Adrian Mapp, and Rebecca Williams. All of these public servants can tell you that service takes commitment! 

I think the best public servants are those who can demonstrate that they are working for the people of this city, not against them. I am running because I know that I can work effectively to improve our city. By working at the grassroots level with other Plainfield activists, by putting in the hard work that we owe to the residents, we can make Plainfield a better place. I look forward to earning your vote!

Yours truly,

Roni