Candidate for
Council Member, 4 Year; City of Santa Rosa

If I am elected to the Santa Rosa City Council the following issues will be addressed and are included in my Action Plan.

• Create a Santa Rosa Youth Corp for neighborhood cleanup and improvement. The Youth Corp would build and expand upon present Measure O Youth Programs.

• Establish a Small Business Incubator and Support Authority to encourage economic development in Santa Rosa, and to assist small business in Roseland, if and when the residents vote for annexation. Establish and Innovation Cluster with support from Google or Microsoft.

• Explore using Redevelopment bond funding to establish a housing land trust for existing Mobile Home Parks. The City should partner with owners and residents to permanently preserve this low cost housing resource.

• Establish a City Non-Profit Coordination Office to create a more supportive and efficient partnership between the City and Non-Profit Service Agencies. Special attention should be focused on Youth and Senior Services.

• Establish a Small Business micro loan program for Small Business startups in Santa Rosa.

• Create a Sustainability Financing District where homeowners voluntarily can install solar panels and retrofit their homes with upfront City financing. Repayment will come from the energy cost savings that will be utilized to repay the City loans. Local Contractors should be given preference in participation. (Note AB-811 State Law now provides the legal mechanism for Cities and Counties to implement Financing Districts)

• Develop Public and Private Partnerships to produce 1000 units of low income/very low income housing during the next four years.

• Work with the Santa Rosa Junior College to create Student Housing Opportunities that presently do not exist.

• Support existing Neighborhood Associations and the Neighborhood Alliance with project grants and administrative support.

• Let the Public decide if they want City Council District Elections by placing a charter amendment proposal on the 2008 November Ballot.

• Increase affordable housing by requiring Inclusionary zoning of Condominium Conversion projects.

• Implement a high tech Bike Sharing Program that provides all city residents with Bicycle Transportation while providing for electronic payment, tracking, and locking systems. These new City wide Bike Rental Systems are 3rd generation success stories because they have overcome the problems of cost, theft, and vandalism.

• Continue the development of a comprehensive Bike lane network, while expanding the number, frequency, and hours of Bus Service.

• Invest in Coordinated Computer and Camera Traffic light control systems that will maximize the utility of existing city roadways.