Rudolph is a resident of Westover Hills who is running for the District 6 City Council seat for the second time. She unsuccessfully sought the seat in 2021.
Hear from the candidate
The following questions were asked of all City Council candidates.
Please tell voters about yourself.
I am an immigrant and small business owner. My educational background is in engineering. I legally immigrated to the United States almost 20 years ago. I am the proud wife and mother of two. I am very active in my community and care a great deal for all residents. My team and I have cleaned up many sites lacking beautification in District 6. I speak fluent English and Russian, and am improving on my Spanish daily.
List any previous experience in government or participation on local boards, commissions, or neighborhood associations.
I ran for City Council District 6 in 2021, and with little money and few volunteers, I got second place out of five candidates by just knocking on doors seven days of the week. I am proud to say that I am not a politician but a business owner and community activist.
What three issues do you consider to be most pressing for your district and how would you address them?
Having spoken to several thousand voters in District 6 this year, I feel that most pressing issues of this district are public safety, property taxes and homelessness. I will fight any and all “defund the police,” “reimagine policing,” and “cite and release” type policies in order to improve public safety for D6 residents. I will fight to lower property tax rate such that even if the appraisals increase, it would not result in an increase in the total amount residents are paying, and I will call out publicly any councilman who fights against it.
I will fight to move as many homeless as possible into shelters and lead an effort to clean up the homeless camps that are closest to our neighborhoods while working with law enforcement to crackdown on certain aspects of homelessness such as loitering, public camping and drinking in public, to name a few, especially in areas that directly impact the community. Going door to door in my district, I’ve heard countless stories of horrified residents who have had their dogs stolen and sold, stuff stolen from their backyards, and people taking showers with their water hoses or baths in their swimming pools from homeless camps in the neighborhoods. D6 residents are crying out for help and are being ignored. I don’t care how much criticism I get for putting the residents of my district first.
Do you support the proposed city charter amendment, known as Proposition A or the Justice Charter, that would bar certain policing tactics, decriminalize abortion and low-level marijuana possession and create a city justice director to oversee criminal justice policy? Why or why not?
Absolutely not. Cite and release will only propagate lawlessness and have a disproportionate affect on lower and middle income residents who bear the brunt of the consequences. Aside from being completely unethical, it will drive businesses that provide groceries, school supplies and clothing to residents of District 6 out of the county like has happened in Portland, Oregon, leaving our residents with limited options for provisions and employment. As for abortion and marijuana, those are state Legislature issues out of the purview of City Council. The Proposition A “Justice Charter” is both immoral and impractical. It is a disgrace.
How do you feel the city has done at balancing the needs of downtown and the neighborhoods, from bond projects to budget priorities?
Having spoken to thousands of D6 residents, the general sentiment is that the city puts a disproportionate focus on what happens downtown compared to what happens in our neighborhoods. For example in the 2022-2027 bond, there is a total of more than $15 million allocated for public art, most of which is downtown, while illegal trash dump sites are popping up all over D6 and remain there for years on end. Our district is getting more dirty and less safe, and it’s evident that City Council is not employing a “neighborhoods first” strategy.
If elected, how do you plan to solicit input and feedback from residents in your district?
The SASpeakUp survey is not enough. I’ve always felt more comfortable going directly to people’s homes in the affected areas rather than hoping that people will speak up. It’s old-fashioned, but nothing works better. I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned about our city government’s failures by going directly to the source. It lets people know that you are listening and that you care. The connection that you make with people face to face is deep. And it reminds me of why I want to leave my career for public service. I will create a rapid response team that will as much as possible respond face to face to D6 residents at their own homes to get direct feedback. This will be a pillar of my administration, and in the same way that I am relying on going to door to door to get elected, I will rely on door to door and hard work to do a good job as councilwoman.
