Two candidates are running for West Lafayette City Council District 6: Republican incumbent candidate Jeffrey Brown and Democratic challenger Stacey Burr.
Jeffrey Brown, 69, is a retired occupational physician who studied at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He was caucused into the council seat vacated by the late Norris Wang in 2021.
Stacey Burr is a self-described technology and business entrepreneur who has worked at Google and Adidas. She currently works as the founder and president of Future Standard Inc., a consulting and advising firm in the health tech sector.
Editors' note: Candidate responses were edited for style and grammar, and any numbers used were checked for accuracy. When a statement required more clarification or could not be independently verified, WBAA reached out to candidates before publication. Those instances, and those candidate responses, are noted throughout in editors’ notes.
JEFFREY BROWN
What are the top concerns that your district’s constituents have shared with you, and what are the issues that you foresee affecting them most in the next two to three years?
The top concerns shared with me by constituents relate mostly to environmentally sound and sustainable community growth. In addition to specific "go greener" initiatives, these concerns would include affordable housing for all income groups, the local business climate, traffic flow including the continued expansion of multi-use trails, bicycle and pedestrian safety, the proper regulation and enforcement of the use of scooters, and ongoing coordination/cooperation between Purdue University and the rest of the West Lafayette community. While public safety is always a concern, constituents have indicated to me their overall satisfaction, appreciation, and strong support for our local law enforcement and firefighting professionals.
Housing has become a major issue in Greater Lafayette — both in terms of the number of affordable units and the conditions of units within the city. What do you believe the council should do, if anything, to address these problems?
The West Lafayette City Council should encourage the expansion of affordable housing within the city. The first step would certainly include an accurate assessment of the barriers that have resulted in a relative shortage of such housing. Once we're confident we have a clear understanding of the reasons for the supply and demand gap in affordable housing, we can then better assess what steps we should take to address those reasons. As to the condition of units within the city: property owners must be held to account to ensure that the applicable city regulations are being followed. If our experience indicates that the regulations are somehow inadequate, those should be revisited.
The Lebanon LEAP industrial district could pipe as much as 100 million gallons of water per day from Tippecanoe County. What is your perspective on a potential pipeline and what, if anything, do you think should be done about it at the local level?
West Lafayette clearly has a strong interest in regional water management and an effort of this magnitude has been met with significant engagement by Mayor Dennis and his administration including the Director of Development, Erin Easter. Meetings between the city and other stakeholders with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation are ongoing as the potential risks and benefits of this initiative are being explored. Any actions we might choose to take at the local level will necessarily be guided by facts, data, and the input of those with differing perspectives. Certainly, we will need to be assured there will be no negative impact locally before the water starts flowing as part of this proposed project.
The Greater Lafayette region is moving forward with implementing a climate action plan. What steps do you think the city should be taking to address local environmental concerns, and what is your perspective on the steps recommended in the regional plan?
The Greater Lafayette Climate Action Plan is the result of an impressive cooperative effort to address the important challenge of climate change. While acknowledging the global nature of this challenge, it focuses its recommendations on what we can do here to effectively address this issue. In setting its goal of a 58 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, the plan includes the following statement with which I fully agree: "This plan should be revisited and reassessed over time to track our progress and adjust our strategies."
Companies are investing in large-scale developments in the Greater Lafayette area, part of a so-called “hard tech corridor” leading to Indianapolis. Some residents have raised concerns about how rapid growth could change the character of the region. How would you like to see growth throughout the region managed?
I would like to see growth in our area managed in a balanced, thoughtful way taking into consideration the perspectives of all interested parties. We need to have an open exchange with regard to the long term vision for the Greater Lafayette region bearing in mind that change is inevitable.
STACEY BURR
What are the top concerns that your district’s constituents have shared with you, and what are the issues that you foresee affecting them most in the next two to three years?
- Attract high quality development and business opportunity.
- Housing availability and affordability.
- Increasing mental health provider capacity — appointment waits are long for Purdue students and in the West Lafayette community.
- Stewardship for stable and balanced city budgets when the West Lafayette Tax Increment Financing zones expire in 2039. West Lafayette should plan far in advance to assure a “smooth landing.”
Specific to District 6, people are interested in:
- Attract a grocery store to the southwest side of campus.
- Support commercial air service to the Purdue airport.
- Bike path connection from 231 to Northwestern, along Cherry Lane and a sidewalk on McCormick between Cherry Lane and Lindberg.
Housing has become a major issue in Greater Lafayette - both in terms of the number of affordable units and the conditions of units within the city. What do you believe the council should do, if anything, to address these problems?
Some students have told me of rent increases of $200-300 per month over last year. Supply and demand needs to reach a stable steady state.
- We can collaborate with Purdue to sharpen student housing capacity-demand forecasts and work together to forecast growth.
- More vertical housing will come on-line in 2026 and help increase availability but it’s yet to be seen if this will help with affordability.
- Support higher density mixed-use housing to enable a live-work-play style of development.
- Understand how our community is changing by obtaining greater availability of data on home ownership trends in our area. Are we experiencing significant increases in homes being purchased by real estate rental investment groups for rental properties? Or are owner-residents rates holding steady? Once we understand the data and trends we can explore if policy options could potentially be a helpful steering mechanism.
The Lebanon LEAP industrial district could pipe as much as 100 million gallons of water per day from Tippecanoe County. What is your perspective on a potential pipeline and what, if anything, do you think should be done about it at the local level?
This is one of the top issues being asked by residents of District 6. I would support the following actions:
- Engage experts and third party data collection for an unbiased perspective on local water capacity.
- Share information with the public – seek more transparency on plans and needs for local water being exported out of the area.
- If the water decision is a done deal, explore how Tippecanoe and surrounding counties will also benefit from the water export.
- Encourage IEDC to negotiate for industry adoption of best practices around minimizing water use and water clean-up in the facilities that move into central indiana.
- Elevate need with the state legislature to act in the next session to address water rights and access so that business interest does not overuse a shared public resource like water
The Greater Lafayette region is moving forward with implementing a climate action plan. What steps do you think the city should be taking to address local environmental concerns, and what is your perspective on the steps recommended in the regional plan?
I support the Greater Lafayette Climate Action plan and its goals to reduce the area’s greenhouse gas emissions by 58 percent by 2030. It is a multi-pronged plan for improvements around many facets that the city can touch. Welcoming involvement from Purdue and the local utilities can increase the impact.
We can also raise awareness of actions individuals can take to become more engaged in city programs and solutions that contribute to a healthier environment: composting, rain barrels, installing solar panels, community gardens, West Lafayette Tree Friends, rewilding of green spaces, Go Greener commission involvement and weatherizing homes.
Companies are investing in large-scale developments in the Greater Lafayette area, part of a so-called “hard tech corridor” leading to Indianapolis. Some residents have raised concerns about how rapid growth could change the character of the region. How would you like to see growth throughout the region managed?
I grew up in West Lafayette, raised my family, and plan to retire in this city. The changes and quality-of-life are a primary reason I am running for city council to represent District 6.
I am a supporter of the hard tech corridor concept, as an innovation, industry, start-up, and venture capital magnet in Central Indiana. We have space, good business bone structure, strong talent coming out of our school systems, and the time is ripe for the Midwest to capitalize on the next wave of Industry 4.0 innovation as manufacturing becomes more digitized. Ag tech, sports tech, software, hard tech, and health tech are some of the industries that can leverage the business base and talent in our state. We should aim for clean industries with strong job opportunities that want to invest in our community beyond the duration of a potential tax abatement. I am especially enthusiastic about the opportunities for start-ups and their investors in West Lafayette. Start-ups are desirable companies that can take technology innovations from the university and build their businesses in this community.
As we position ourselves for growth we also need to work within a framework that ensures the quality of life is appealing to residents. Population growth needs to be managed and matched to school capacity and housing. The environmental impact on the community needs to be evaluated over a long arc. A vibrant and welcoming cultural scene will attract people and families to move and remain in West Lafayette. Public safety and city amenities can motivate people in a growing community to get to know each other and become immersed in the city. I don’t believe we should sacrifice quality of life for rapid growth, instead they can complement each other.
