City Council Candidate Profile: Amber Franklin

Editor’s Note: The Oxford Free Press is publishing one City Council Candidate Profile per week until polls open. All candidates were contacted for an interview and asked similar questions. Each profile highlights experience, policy and goals for the Oxford community. 

Council member Amber Franklin split her time as a child in Toronto, and Saint Thomas, an island in the Caribbean Sea. Eventually, she moved to the United States, where she lived in Wakefield, Rhode Island, as well as Detroit and Seattle, WA, all for education. She came to Oxford in 2011, where she started working for Miami University as an educator in the department of speech pathology and audiology.

“In many ways, Oxford kind of reminds me of Anguilla,” she said, “the island where my parents are from.” 

Franklin discussed the benefits of being in a small town like Oxford. 

“You can’t run away from your differences as easily here,” she added. “I appreciate that.”

She believes that being in a community filled with people of different beliefs is a plus, as it strengthens her world view and skillset.

“I think it helps to develop some empathy and sharpen my communication skills across differences,” she said.

Franklin believes that her time studying and practicing speech language pathology makes her a candidate with a highlight around communication.  

For the past 14 years, Franklin has contributed to Oxford’s community through various governmental and non-governmental organizations. She is also a founding member of the Oxford Police Community Relations and Review Commission (PCRRC), which Franklin cites as her entrance into civic and public service in Oxford. 

“I’ve always been civically-minded,” she said. “I believe in growing where you are planted.”

These same principles are also core pillars of overarching civic goals for the PCRRC, which aims to advise the Oxford Police Department (OPD) on some of its practices and procedures, according to Franklin.

The PCRRC acts as a way for residents and citizens to share concerns about issues in the community.

Franklin believes that one of her strengths is being able to talk across divides. 

“It seems like there are fewer and fewer natural opportunities for that to happen,” she said. “So you have to kind of start to try and create them, which I have done a little bit of in the last few years.”

Franklin’s presence on a variety of different councils, commissions and boards has taught her about the ins and outs of city work, and highlighted her civic-minded nature for Oxford.

“It’s been really fun to learn about different aspects of the city,” she said. “To see how hard our staff really works.”

Franklin thinks that housing is a huge issue that she would like to work on if re-elected to the council.

“The student market really takes up a lot of that housing stock,” she said. “One of the things that I am concerned about is if there could be some discrimination against families who want to rent.”

Franklin hopes to find upstream solutions to help allow for a wider range of people to access rental housing in Oxford.

On top of this, Franklin cites the work done at the Oxford Area Solutions for Housing (OASH) to help create more eviction diversion programs for the community. 

Another pressing issue Franklin would like to cover is deer management.

But management is not just environmental. An additional project Franklin aims to work on is the Economic Development Strategic Plan, which she hopes to strengthen, and create more resources and help for EMS and firefighters. 

Franklin is heavily in support of the senior services levy that will be on the ballot for this year. 

“Senior services have been hit very hard with the funding cuts,” she said. “We often don’t realize that seniors are often at risk of being unhoused or having a lack of security.”

Franklin aims to continue to “be a part of solutions” in Oxford, regardless of differences.

“In this time,” she said, “you need somebody who understands that you need to partner with different constituents to get things done.”