Candidate for
Member, City Council; City of Walnut Creek

I have always said that Walnut Creek is a great place to live, to raise a family, to have a business and to retire. I try to keep that thought in my mind when I am making decisions as a councilperson. ALL facets of our resident population have to be served equally and with thoughtful consideration.

These are challenging financial times for all cities in California. Due to previous conservative budgets and our thriving downtown, Walnut Creek is in better shape than most. As reflected in recent newspaper articles regarding the arts programs, some belt-tightening is going to be necessary.

Our City Council has worked hard, along with the California League of Cities, to reach an agreement with the governor to stop the State from taking the lion's share of our property taxes in two years, so there is hope in the future that the stress will relax some. Voting approval of Proposition 1A on the November ballot is imperative for the financial security of Walnut Creek and the other cities in Contra Costa.

In the mean time I am committed to doing whatever it takes to keeping the creeks, parks, roads, community centers, sports activities, arts programs and downtown operating at the level our residents have come to expect. Undoubtedly there will have to be some accommodations made, but working together we can maintain the quality of life we all value here in Walnut Creek.

Affordable housing is another issue I feel strongly about. Is it reasonable that our grown children, teachers, fire fighters and police officers, often can not afford to live in Walnut Creek where they work? This may mean that we will be considering some higher density developments in appropriate areas of our city to serve the need for housing for the people who work in and contribute so much to our city.

I am also committed to building a new library on the old library site in Civic Park. All residents deserve a decent, updated library. Our children, our senior citizens, our recent immigrants, our businesses - all of us will benefit from a new library in a central location. If we are not selected for a State grant to build our library we, as a community, will have to develop a plan to carry the financial burden of such an ambitious building project. I believe we can do this and I will do all I can to see a new library added to all the other wonderful assets of Walnut Creek.