Candidate for
Member, City Council; City of Willits

My political philosophy is really simple; I believe that public officials and public servants are synonymous terms. As an elected public official/servant, I have always striven to put the needs of the public at the forefront of all of my activities. The idea of initiating the solar energy program grew out of my involvement with WELL, and my desire to save taxpayer dollars while promoting clean, renewable energy. The ultimate goal is to create a city-wide program to make solar energy available to all Willits residents and businesses.

I have assumed the committee leadership in the new city initiative of reducing greenhouse gases. Recently, the city joined an international organization consisting of cities, counties and private industry. The goal is to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, and to reverse global warming. Working with volunteers, and using the organization's expertise, we will develop a program to help the city and the public make these reductions.

I have been working with the Willits Chamber of Commerce on the Business Alliance for Local Living Economy (BALLE) program. This is another grass roots effort to promote local businesses, and to strengthen our local economy.

I have recently completed a training program in CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), that was taught and sponsored by our local fire and police departments. Along with the other class members, we will provide backup to our primary emergency respondors in case of an emergency. Ultimately, we will form neighborhood teams to provide self help for the citizens in these situations. The reality is that in a major incident, such as earthquake or wild fire, emergency personnel have told the public that it could be several days before help would be available. It is vitally important that communities are able to care for themselves until help arrives. The CERT Teams will provide that self-sufficiency.

As an active member of Willits Rotary since 2001, I have been involved in all of our club activities that have raised money to support a wide variety of local organizations and activities, including: hospice, the food bank, local schools, the new hospital, the public library, to name a few.

I believe that it is important that we, as a community, don't just sit around waiting for Washington or Sacramento to come to our rescue. We need to do what we can to improve our economy, our infrastructure, and our society in general. There is much that we can do, and there are many groups that are acting on this.