Candidate for
Council Member; City of Citrus Heights

As CEO of the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce for the past 9 1/2 years I have had the honor to assist many small businesses in Citrus Heights. As a result of my advocacy several measures have been implemented to support our local business community. Among them is a streamlined permit process from the fire district and an itinerant vendor ordinance to protect our permanent businesses and the tax dollars they produce.

As a resident I have helped this city get established. Now I want to take my knowledge, experience and dedication to address three major goals.

1) - To provide the most effective, community-oriented and cutting-edge law enforcement services possible for the best value. This will become an important issue during the next term as police services in Citrus Heights will be evaluated against the backdrop of a soon to-be disclosed police study.

2) - Address the second goal of the city's economic development strategy - to bring job diverstiy to Citrus Heights. The employment opportunities in the city are dominated by entry level retail and food service businesses. For a community go thrive economically, higher paying jobs with career opportunities must be cultivated and made available to our citizens. This will take innovation and hard work because it can only happen through redevelopment and reuse of existing land in our built-out city. Jobs that pay well attract productive people, who in turn move here and patronize the businesses that exist here. It adds a new layer to the quality of life we all seek.

3) - Work with the local school district to address the specific needs of the youth of Citrus Heights. More than half of the graduating seniors from both high schools enter the work force rather than go on to college. We must offer them the level of training they need to secure meaningful employment with advancement possibilities, jobs that can be personally fulfilling and allow them to lead productive lives. At the same time, we must cooperate with the schools to increase the perfomance level of all students, so that those who want to go on to college are attractive to schools of higher education, and prepared to successfully take that step.