Candidate for
Council Member; City of Burlingame

A TRACK RECORD WITH REAL RESULTS

As an elected or appointed official:

As past chair of Burlingame's Traffic, Safety and Parking Commission developed Burlingame's first ever Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. Using my design expertise to create appealing banners while collaborating with city staff, we developed meter pricing +and "way-finding" strategies designed to help drivers determine the most convenient places to park in our downtown. This concept has become a model for other towns in the midst of developing downtown strategies.

While serving as your councilman from 2005-2007, I committed myself to engaging the public in a more meaningful way-- town hall meetings, surveys, weekly coffee talks and many lively discussions took place. Your ideas and perspectives about our city were considered an integral tool in developing policies and procedures. Keenly aware of the changes to many of Burlingame's neighborhoods, I made sure that Burlingame's history would be understood and well represented during council discussions. .

As Communications Chair for the Committee to pass Measure E, the "Fix Our Flooding" storm drain upgrade proposition, I developed education strategy that was implemented through web presence, powerpoint presentations and direct mail campaign, raising awareness about the dire shape our infrastructure and dangers of continuing a policy of deferred maintenance.

I have continued to express my opposition to the development of plans for a full-interchange at Peninsula Avenue that threatens several eastside residential and business properties with eminent domain. I have continued to attend meetings held in the City of San Mateo regarding this ongoing issue.

As a citizen:

As president of the Burlingame Historical Society, I led the organization to establish the Burlingame Hillsborough History Museum, currently located inside the Historic Burlingame Train Station at no cost to the city of Burlingame. I have curated dozens of educational exhibits about Burlingame's rich and colorful past, enjoyed by residents and visitors of all ages.

The Burlingame Voice, a community based news flyer, was founded in my living room. It was delivered door to door by volunteers until it evolved into a popular Burlingame based blog, http://www.burlingamevoice.com, providing the first interactive community forum in the area.

I was a founding member of the Citizens for a Better Burlingame, a grassroots community group that began as a way to open the dialog between Safeway, Burlingame's city council and city staff. Later the group held free community forums with guest speakers on topics ranging from "Smart Growth" to BART's arrival in nearby Millbrae, The Mills-Peninsula Hospital project and more.

I initiated the neighborhood movement "Don't Railroad Us" that evolved into http://www.highspeedbondoggle.com, a grass- roots group that changed the conversation and public opinion regarding Proposition 1A, the controversial high speed rail project that will likely have profoundly devastating affects on Burlingame's quality of life.