Candidate for
Councilmember; City of Rancho Palos Verdes

My wife Laura Lee and I have been residents of the city for about 14 years. I have been a business litigation attorney for over 25 years. I act as my law firm's risk manager and am involved in purchasing all types of insurance for my firm of over 140 attorneys and for clients of the firm. As a business litigator my specialties include complex accounting and insurance coverage disputes. I am regularly called upon to manage services the firm provides its clients as well as managing services the firm receives from insurance brokers and insurance companies. A number of attorneys in my firm serve in public service positions. The firm supports our efforts.

I was born and raised for 18 years in Minneapolis. I attended college at Stanford where I earned an B.A. in history, Phi Beta Kappa in 1979 and a J.D. in 1982. I was able to move to Rancho Palos Verdes in 1993 and have remained there since. I became interested in city issues and volunteered to serve on the View Restoration Commission in 1996. I spent a total of 4 years on that commission, most of the last 2 years as its Chair. I then applied for a position on the Planning Commission and was appointed to a 2 year term in 2000. I was reappointed to a 4 year term in 2002. The Planning Commission elected me Vice Chairman for 2002 and the City Council unanimously appointed me as Chair for 2003. The City Council also unanimously appointed me Chair of the General Plan Update Steering Committee. I also served on and cco-chaired the city's Residential Development Standards Update Committee. I was elected to the council in 2003 and became mayor in 2007.