Responses to the Pacific Sun questionnaire

By Greg Brockbank

September 12, 2007

1. Why are you running and why would you be particularly effective?

As my attached Public Service Record shows, listing several dozen civic and political organizations on whose boards I've served on and some I've chaired, I consider myself a public servant. As such, I will serve where I feel I am most needed and can do the most good, so when asked, I enthusiastically agreed to run for this council, which will have its first new members in 11 years. My 18 years on the College of Marin Board of Trustees give me experience in managing multi-million dollar budgets, taking a public institution through times of transition, and working with staff and the public when making decisions on public issues. Also, my legal representation of a diverse clientele and extensive history in and knowledge of the issues make me a good choice for one of the two open seats.

2. What do you believe are the three most important issues facing the City of San Rafael and how would you deal with them?

First, traffic congestion seems to top everyone's hit list, including mine. We need to introduce more traffic "calming" techniques, such as speed humps and roundabouts, as well as encouraging more use of public transit, bicycling, and walking.

Second, greenhouse gas emissions should be on everyone's priority list, and I'm committed to reducing those caused by the city's operations, as well as those caused by its businesses and residents. I'd also like to promote various other environmental initiatives, including moving towards zero waste, cleaner energy, and cleaner air and water, as well as Community Choice Aggregation to move toward energy independence.

Third, San Rafael's officials need to be in closer contact with the diverse community groups that make this City so dynamic. Toward that end, I'd like to make the Council more "user friendly" by such things as free pancake breakfasts, sidewalk office hours, and other events to enhance accessibility and responsiveness to community concerns. Also, I support publicly financed elections, so good candidates aren't scared off by the need to raise tens of thousands of dollars in private money.

3. What is your view regarding the performance of the current City Council and how, if at all, would you act differently?

I've always felt that the San Rafael City council has been, in recent years, one of Marin's best, but with new challenges facing us every year, it is time for fresh blood + and ideas + to infuse new insight and energy into our City. I believe I bring those new ideas and fresh insight to the table.

I became an activist in San Rafael over 20 years ago as a co-founding Vice President of the North San Rafael Coalition of Residents (which became the model for the present Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods), and for affordable housing as President of the San Rafael Housing Corporation, and on the board of the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce, so my history of activism in this city runs deep and long. And although I wouldn't go so far as Fairfax in agendizing non-city-related items (like John Negroponte's appointment), I would agendize things the current council refuses to agendize, such as a resolution supporting a single-payer health care system (which has been endorsed by 70 California cities and counties, including Marin County and Fairfax, and which in fact would save San Rafael a substantial amount of money).

4a) Do you consider global warming a reality?

Absolutely, as the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence shows. Anyone who doesn't is a scientific troglodyte (or perhaps just a right-winger).

4b) What local measures would you support and/or have you supported to address climate change and to promote sustainable planning/building policies?

As mentioned above, this is one of my top priorities, and has been for quite a number of years (since I read Ron Gelbspan's "Boiling Point"). In addition to the measures listed above (less use of cars, cleaner energy, etc.) for the city's operations, as well as those of its businesses and residents, we need to promote greener building and planning policies, as outlined by ICLEI and other sources. I served nearly 20 years ago on the Board of the Environmental Forum of Marin, and more recently of the North Bay Sustainability Center, and will work with leaders in these areas to bring about the needed changes.

4c) Do you disagree with any of the Ahwahnee Principles?

No + I strongly support them all.

5a) Did you support or oppose SMART?

I supported it, but only reluctantly, shortly before the election, and mainly because we need to get those thousands of tons of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. But I think the proponents did a terrible job in articulating its advantages and generally in running the campaign. Next time, they need to resolve issues like the connection with the Larkspur Ferry, low ridership projections, weekend and evening operations, and downtown San Rafael issues. They need to convince the public that the costs will only increase the longer we wait, and ridership will grow as time goes on and congestion worsens.

5b) What actions would you support to address Marin's traffic problems in general and the specifically the congestion around the transit center/freeway entrance areas at 3rd and Hetherton?

As indicated above, traffic congestion is everyone's top issue, including mine, so we need to get people out of their cars by providing incentives to ride public transit, bicycle, and walk. Using both the carrot and the stick, I would make alternative forms of transportation more available and enjoyable, and make driving in cars more expensive. For example, today's IJ reported on a possible $4 per day incentive to county employees to carpool to work.

I would set a personal example by bicycling and walking more (I already do so frequently), challenging others to do so as well, and perhaps even creating contests and publicizing tips and good examples. I would explore shuttles and feeder lines to expand the existing bus system to get people to and from downtown.

I would start now to work with community and neighborhood leaders to fashion solutions for what might otherwise be even more gridlock and driver frustration if and when the train is in operation.

6. What is your view regarding how the City has dealt with issues arising from immigration, including the matter of day workers?

I've always been a strong supporter of having a hiring hall, and was pleased when the city finally took the lead in establishing one some years ago. But they subsequently discovered that, if the city was involved, they'd have to check for green cards of the workers, so they understandably and appropriately backed off from their involvement. However, a hiring hall could still be established by various nonprofit organizations who don't have to check green cards, and I would work to help make that happen.

The immigration raids earlier this year were seemingly unnecessary and overly traumatic to the entire community. Although we can't block federal immigration authorities, we don't have to help them, and in fact we should help the community prepare for, and if necessary, recover from, such raids.

7. Do you have any thoughts about responding to the needs of Canal area residents?

The Canal area continues to be community of mostly immigrants, but it is no longer inexpensive to live there, which means that ever larger numbers of workers and families are increasingly overcrowded into the apartments there. Any time you have an area that small and that crowded (over 10,000 people), crime is an issue, so we need more and better community policing, and also enforcement of the housing ordinances, in order to keep the residents safe. They also have increasing needs for recreation and community gathering places, so I was happy to see the successful expansion of Pickleweed Community Center, and the award that project just recently won.

8. What, if anything, does the City need to do to maintain a vibrant, viable downtown and to assure that city residents have safe, peaceful residential neighborhoods?

The renaissance of San Rafael's downtown in recent years has been wonderful. It is still the primary Marin downtown area. We must ensure that it remains walkable and livable for those who dine, shop, and live there. And we must retain the viability of the small, local-serving businesses. Walking downtown in the evenings, I run into neighbors doing the same, and Fourth Street's lights, restaurants, and wide variety of shops and services are a crucial part of the quality of life enjoyed by not just San Rafael's residents, but those throughout Marin. The City has done well, and it should keep it up, but perhaps do even more, such as working more closely with the Chamber of Commerce (where I've been an active member for over 20 years), involving local merchants in continual upgrading and beautifying (e.g., Corte Madera's hanging flower pots), and other improvements. More advertising could and should be done to bring in more people not just from San Rafael and Marin, but from throughout the Bay Area, and even beyond that as a tourist destination (or at least a stop on a Bay Area trip). But we can't afford any more traffic, so we need to direct the new visitors to parking lots on the outskirts of the downtown, and encourage walking and taking the bus.

Our diverse neighborhoods are the lifeblood of our City. Each has particular styles, needs, and communities of interest. This diversity makes a lively city and should be encouraged through neighborhood planning efforts and ensuring that staff and elected officials alike understand those differences and are prepared to work with community leaders. Some neighborhood improvement techniques may involve community policing, traffic calming techniques, beautification projects, park improvements, etc. Sound ordinances should be enacted or strengthened in order to protect us from noise pollution from such sources as leaf blowers, as some communities have done.

9. Do you have any particular political heroes, post 1970? Who are they and why?

I probably have dozens, but two come to mind + one from 35 years ago and one from four years ago. In the early 70's, "country lawyer" Sam Ervin chaired the congressional Watergate Committee and restored faith in government to citizens that badly needed it. And four and a half years ago, Howard Dean thundered his opening line at the California Democratic Convention: "What I want to know is why some Democrats are supporting George Bush's unilateral invasion of Iraq." Plain talk that we all needed to hear, so we all signed up for his campaign and took him to front-runner status by that fall.

10. Tell us your vision for the future of San Rafael in 10 to 25 years.

I hope that San Rafael will be, and I will work towards its becoming, a model sustainable city that has lead the nation in traffic reduction and greenhouse gas reduction. We should have the highest percentage of people walking, bicycling, and using public transit (including expanded bus service and the SMART train), and with speed humps and roundabout, traffic congestion should be a thing of the past. Downtown will be better than ever, and with readily available parallel streets, we should eventually be able to close Fourth Street and turn it into a grand pedestrian mall, much like Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz. The beauty, and the diversity of the restaurants, shops, and services, will be unmatched anywhere. The neighborhoods will also be beautiful, safe, and peaceful, with less traffic, less noise, and more and better parks and other community gathering places to better instill the sense of community we all need in our neighborhoods specifically and in our city generally. We will have excellent disaster preparedness in each neighborhood and in the city as whole, and be well prepared for fires, earthquakes, tsunamis, and even global warming + although if enough cities follow our lead, we can mitigate its effects. The city government will be a model of accessibility, with friendly staff and council members that residents can always reach and talk to, and who will answer their questions and resolve concerns in way that restores, rather than diminishes, their faith in city government. I want to sit on the City Council in order to make that vision a reality.

Thank you very much!