Candidate for
Council Member; City of Santa Rosa

Some of Bob Blanchard's earliest memories are of peeling tin foil off gum wrappers, smashing tin cans flat, and winding scraps of string into balls. Those activities along with buying War Bonds and using ration coupons to obtain sugar, meat, and gasoline were a part of the environment Bob grew up in as his family did its part on the home front during WWII.

Although his family would have been considered of the lower middle class economically, they still never lacked for the basic necessities. Bob saw the effects of the depression on his father's saving and spending habits. His parents taught him the value of education and the importance of going on to college although neither of them was able to complete college themselves, as they were children of the depression.

His father was a union member in the film industry. Bob remembers how he watched his dad sit by the phone not being able to leave the house, waiting for the union call (that may or may not come) to go to work.

Like most kids, Bob learned some skills and values from his parents that have stayed with him all his life. From his father he learned the value of active involvement in the raising of his own children, and not being afraid to take risks in life. From his mother Bob gained an understanding of community through her participation in the PTA, the Cub Scouts, and church, along with countless neighborhood activities.

Bob's own work experience began at the age of ten when he secured several lawn care jobs in the neighborhood. These were followed by after-school and weekend work in small businesses; a hardwood flooring company, photography store, pastrami stand and as a chauffeur for a paraplegic motion picture sound dubber. He worked summers as a union green man and property man for the motion picture industry.

These early experiences fostered in Bob a desire to assume leadership roles. As a boy, he arranged activities for his neighborhood friends, and was active in high school ROTC. During his senior year, he became battalion commander for the 150-member ROTC group.

After graduating from high school, he joined an Army reserve military police company. That led to a seven-year reserve military assignment as an Airborne Ranger for a reserve Special Forces Detachment in Southern California.

Embarking upon an extensive college career, Bob earned a B.S. in Police Administration from Los Angeles State University, before pursuing a Masters in criminology from Long Beach State. He then earned a Ph.D. in government and criminal justice from Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, CA.

Upon graduation from college, he accepted a position as a deputy with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. In addition to his regular duties, he began working as a part-time instructor at the Riverside City College Police Academy. The impetus to teach increased to the point that after eight years with the Riverside Sheriff's Department, he left active law enforcement to teach full time at the police academy.

One of Bob's cherished accomplishments was to take weak-academic, low-morale police academies and turn them into statewide-recognized law enforcement programs. He managed a $3.5 million Law Enforcement Assistance Administration grant responsible for the creation of four northern California criminal justice training centers in the early 1970's.

In 1981 Bob was appointed director of the Santa Rosa Junior College, Criminal Justice Academy at Los Guillicos where he served until appointed Assistant Dean of Liberal Arts. Four years later he was appointed Dean of Occupational Educational.

Having experienced management and administration from a criminal justice and college perspective for two decades, Bob desired to return to the classroom. By teaching, he hoped he could open student's minds to the value of independence, economic freedom, and community service. He continues to teach today.

Pursuing his interest in community leadership, Bob took an active role in the Leadership Santa Rosa (LSR) and in the creation of the Tomorrow's Leaders Today (TLT) programs. He accepted an appointment to the Santa Rosa Planning Commission in 1994 and served as chair of the Planning Commission for three and a half years.

In other various community involvements he has served as co-chair of the 1996 Charter Review Committee, Executive Board member of the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce, and Executive Board member of the Sonoma County Alliance.

He currently serves on the board of the Albert Baker Scholarship Fund and as a member of the Friends Advisory Council of the Community Foundation Sonoma County. He has served as president, lay Reader, and Sunday School teacher for his church and as president of Santa Rosa East Rotary. During his Rotary presidency, he spent time weekly in a reading program working with English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students at Doyle Park Elementary School.

Bob has a strong commitment to the value of family and marriage, and he and his wife Angelyn have been married since 1967. Their daughter was born in 1969 and they adopted their son as in infant in 1970. Their daughter has recently blessed the family with two grandsons.

Bob was elected to the City Council in 2002 and serves as Vice-Mayor currently. He represents the city and county on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Sonoma County Transportation Authority.