Candidate for
Council Member; City of Santa Cruz

I want to work with the community to find a way to increase our local tax base so we can provide City employees with the compensation they deserve and so the City can support social services, recreation, affordable housing, environmental protection, and public safety. We need to find a way to do this that does not destroy the environment or human scale of our community, both of which are part of what make this such a wonderful place to live and work.

I think that the way to approach this question is by creating a broad-based community discussion of our priorities and a consensus plan for moving forward. I have a great deal of experience in doing this kind of work, which involves a combination of grassroots initiatives to draw our residents into a dialogue about how we do and do not want our city to develop. Our solutions have to be both visionary and pragmatic at the same time. I believe that I have demonstrated my ability to work with diverse groups of individuals and organizations to make this process successful. It will not be easy, but it simply needs to happen.

I also want to work on social justice issues such as continuing to improve the racial and gender diversity of the City workforce. I want to continue our strong local efforts to address global warming through a continued focus on alternative energy and improvements to our public transit system. Finally, I want to find a way to work with the University so it will become a more responsible member of the local community and take more responsibility for mitigating the negative impacts it has on our neighborhoods and on the City budget.