Candidate for
Council Member; City of Santa Clara; Seat 3

I am originally from Saint Paul, Minnesota. I moved to Santa Clara in 1992 after meeting my wife Sylvia, who is from San Jose and is a graduate of Santa Clara University. For the last twelve years, I have maintained my own law practice on Park Avenue in the city of Santa Clara. My practice is dedicated to representing individuals in consumer protection cases. Most of my cases involve the lemon law, car purchases, inaccurate credit reports or fraud. Sylvia and I have four children, all of whom attend Santa Clara's excellent pre-school program.

Since 1998, I have been a member of the Santa Clara Housing Rehabilitation Loan Committee. The Committee's main business is to make loans to low and middle income individuals for home repairs. Many of the recipients of these low-interest loans are seniors who are able to remain in their homes because of the repairs. The Committee has assisted over 1,100 homeowners since it began in 1976. The Committee is made up of four members, including Councilman Jamie Matthews.

I participated in the Leadership Santa Clara program in 2001. In that program, the participants were given extensive information regarding the operation of the city's various institutions, including fire, police, emergency dispatch, hospital, and schools.

Earlier this year, I lead a group of parents and teachers in an effort to add two additional sessions of Santa Clara's excellent pre-school program at Westwood Oaks ark. We gathered well over 100 signatures and a number of parents came with me to City Hall to speak on behalf of the proposal. We felt that the additional classes more than paid for themselves because of the tuition paid by the parents. The additional classes were not added for the 2004-5 school year but will considered for the following school year.

I have been deeply involved in two volunteer organizations. In 1988 I started the Lawyers in the ibrary Program. That program provides free legal consultations at local libraries. Over the years, hundreds of attorneys have volunteered for the program and thousands have received a consultation.

I have been active in Volunteers in Parole. That program is made up of attorneys who mentor young offenders recently released from the Youth Authority. Our goal is to help these individuals to make more positive choices in their lives, and to reduce crime. I have mentored several individuals over the years. The program is very successful and results in a low recidivism rate In 1996 I was the Chair of the Santa Clara County Chapter and served as softball coach for several seasons.