Candidate for
Council Member; City of Fresno; Council District 6

I am a fiscal conservative who has learned from over 28 years of running a successful business that you must stretch your dollars.All new council members will be immediately facing a fiscal crisis with budget deficits projected as high as $18 million. You will need the most experienced people to help resolve this budget crisis. Below are expanded explanations of my three primary issues:

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Fresno has historically been an ag based economy. We also have a high concentraton of poverty. It is essential that we work to diversify our economy to create more good paying jobs. We cannot sustain our community without a healthy economy. Supporting existing businessand bringing in new business is essential to our economy. A centerpiece for economic development should be the development of a first class, 500 plus acre, industrial park.

PUBLIC SAFETY: Our quality of life is dependent upon keeping our streets safe. High crime rates directly influence the livability of our city. With over 7,000 known gang members, we must be vigilant in our efforts to control gang activity. We need to increase police staffing levels to be successful in our war against gangs and crime. We also need to upgrade the readiness standard of our fire department to save all us money on our home and business insurance.

SMART PLANNING & AIR QUALITY: I was a member of the Fresno City Planning Commission that approved the 2025 General Plan that dramatically altered our growth pattern by going "in and up" instead of a continued outward expansion. I support infill growth and innovative features in the 2025 General Plan including high density and mixed use developments, more space for parks and linking activity centers that will encourage the use of mass transit.

The San Joaquin Valley experiences some of the worst air quality in the nation. We pay a high price for our non-attainment of air quality: one in five children have asthma and we have an estimated economic loss of $3.2 billion. I will support: 1) legislation to rid our roads of gross polluters; 2) City of Fresno clean air initiatives and Fresno Green; and 3) accelerating our plans to achieve a clean air attainment by 2017.