Leigh Phillips and the First District
Independent political commentary by John Hajicek · November 13, 2026
What she has already put in writing
Leigh Phillips proposes that every district publish its unfinished street, sidewalk and drainage work, with an estimate, a funding source, a responsible department and a completion date. I would use that list at budget time. When a councilmember proposes another obligation, let the resident look up the culvert that was promised three budgets ago and see which appropriation comes first.
On October 8 Phillips submitted a contract-review proposal. She calls for written reasons when officials depart from ordinary bidding and for scrutiny of change orders after award. A contractor can win on the first price and earn the real profit on the amendments. Following the money through the final payment is among the strongest parts of her platform.
The proprietor and the property owner
Phillips wants applicants to be able to understand the permits, fees and inspections required to open a business. She also proposes reviewing repeal of the western Independence zoning overlay while preserving existing mixed-use permissions. That qualification matters. Repealing one layer of zoning can expose an owner to a more restrictive rule underneath. I would judge the revision by what an owner can lawfully do with the property the next morning.
Her neighborhood proposal, R.I.S.E., deserves a harder reading. Phillips requests a study before implementation and proposes examining incentives, rehabilitation and code enforcement. I want to know who qualifies for assistance, what the owner down the street pays, and how an owner can contest a finding that a building is dangerous. As a preservationist, I have seen what survives when a building is given time. Vacancy alone tells us very little about the strength of an old wall.
What I would ask at her table
Elisa Breitenbach announced Phillips as the council candidate scheduled to speak at V’s on November 10. Phillips also invites residents to hold conversations at one hundred tables and says she financed her District 1 Community Table herself. Voluntary civic work deserves credit on its own terms.
Here is what I would ask her across one of those tables. Would she vote against a preferential tax abatement even if the applicant threatened to leave? Which permit would she abolish? Would she vote to stop the city from retaining a record of an innocent motorist’s travels? I hold conservative moral convictions and spend conservatively. Neither conviction gives City Hall a claim on my neighbor’s private life. Phillips has explained how she would examine a proposal. On these questions I want to know where she would cast her vote.