Candidate for
Councilmember; City of Santa Monica

I was born in Buchanan, Michigan in 1947. My parents and my older brother had emigrated here from Sicily. I was the first person in my family to be born in this country. My father was a shoe repairman and we lived in several rooms behind the shop, which was located on the main street. We were, for all intents and purposes, the only immigrant family in this small, conservative, Midwestern town. Like many immigrants my parents were proud to be part of this country and profoundly impressed by the American way of life. In particular, my father had a close friend who was a member of the state legislature. As I grew older I came to respect this man immensely and could see how,through his position; he was able to influence the culture of the community he served. Even as a young man I realized that this ability to analyze the system, advocate for a constituency, and effect change was a gift and a privilege.

I grew up speaking Sicilian in my home and English in school. My parents had had only a rudimentary education in Sicily. Although they had a tremendous respect for higher learning, because of the language difference, they had little direct involvement with my teachers or in my school. It was very fortunate for me, then, that the public schools in our community were excellent. I had a first class public school education, including medical school and post-graduate training. In 1981 I began private practice in Santa Monica. In February of 2000, I joined the academic faculty of the UCLA Department of Medicine and formed an internal medicine group at 12th and Wilshire where I am currently the lead physician. In addition to our internal medicine practice we train residents and medical students from UCLA's School of Medicine.

I have been blessed with success in my chosen career, both professionally and personally in that I met my wife Melissa while serving on the Infection Control committee at Saint John's Hospital, where she was a clinical pharmacist. We married in 1990 and have two children, Philip, who is 12 and in 7th grade, and Adrianna, who is 10 and in 4th grade. Our lives are busy, happy and productive, and we are grateful.

Throughout the years I have served Santa Monica by taking care of its residents. I understand the issues that concern us, including homelessness, a growing feeling of disconnection from current city government, and current city funding priorities undermining our public health, public safety, and public education systems. I will offer accountability, innovative approaches and outcome-driven decision making. I love Santa Monica and know many of the residents as patients, business associates, and beloved friends. Working to improve the quality of all of our lives, and ensure a solid future for our children, would give me great joy and satisfaction. Thank you for considering me.

Matt Dinolfo, MD