| Contra Costa County, CA | November 4, 2008 Election |
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2008 CampaignBy Victoria SmithCandidate for Council Member; City of Orinda |
This information is provided by the candidate | |
Victoria's Accomplishments and PlansCurrently serving as Mayor, Victoria Smith was elected to the Orinda City Council in 2004. An attorney specializing in real estate law, Smith and her husband moved to his home town of Orinda twenty years ago, and raised their two sons here. She reports that, "being on the City Council doesn't leave a lot of time for hobbies, but when I get the chance I do like to hike, read, play tennis and travel." Smith also confesses a passion for Cal Football, "Go Bears!" Smith says that with the strong support of the Council and the community she has accomplished much during her term on the Council, including the successful completion of the Moraga Way repair project which "completely rebuilt that important arterial, including the use of federal funds that we worked hard to secure." She also points to "the creation of a Traffic Safety Advisory Committee, at my request, which has improved traffic safety in Orinda by creating a blueprint to resolve traffic `hot spot' areas; collaborating with the Chamber of Commerce to promote `Shop Orinda' to improve sales tax revenue; developing an improved emergency disaster preparedness plan with Lafayette and Moraga; `hiring' canine officer `Chef' to assist in locating missing children and fragile seniors and bringing donated art to public places." Smith says she is not done yet. "The main problem in Orinda, which we still need to resolve, is finding a long-term solution to fix Orinda's roads. The condition of our roads is not only a daily inconvenience to us, and an added cost of repair to our cars, but a safety issue, as the roads are used by fire fighters, paramedics and school buses. Over the last several years, the City has really focused on determining the extent of the road problem and the total cost to repair the roads, and developing a comprehensive program to prioritize road repairs so that the roads which are most heavily traveled by most people are fixed first. We know that we have a $100 million problem and we must secure financing in order to implement a comprehensive multi-year plan to rebuild Orinda's roads." In light of the recent conflict of interest discussion, we asked Smith about her own situation; she replied, "In my four years on the Council I have voted on thousands of decisions and have only had to recuse myself once; I don't see this as an issue." In addition to a desire to find a solution for Orinda's 95 miles of public roads, Smith says she is seeking re-election because, "I also want to work to revitalize our downtown areas, to attract restaurants, shops, and businesses that our community wants. At my request, the Council included within this year's budget the funds to initiate a sales tax leakage study, which I believe will be the first step in helping to determine additional goods and services that could be provided in Orinda. I have a committee working right now to select the best developer to build compassionate high quality senior affordable housing at the old library site. I want to move forward to improve the walkways and bikeways throughout Orinda, including Safe Routes to schools. I love this community and I will do my best to maintain and enhance the quality of life in Orinda." Published August 20, 2008 in the Lamorinda Weekly |
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Created from information supplied by the candidate: September 19, 2008 16:54
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