Candidate for
County Supervisor; Sonoma County; Supervisorial District 5

Rue Furch has deep roots in West County. She has lived and worked here for 37 years, while raising a family, owning and operating a small business, and taking an active part in her community. Her successes, particularly in environmental issues, have won her awards at both the local and state level.

Rue moved to Sonoma County in 1970. Since that time she has worked tirelessly as a concerned mom, activist, and county planning commissioner for better schools, sustainable farms, conservation of natural resources and the quality of life in our neighborhoods, villages and towns.

While her two sons were in school, Rue was a leader in educational issues. She served as Project Manager for the Sonoma County Community Foundation's Parent Education Project, Los Ninos Bien Educados, and Executive Director of the Sonoma County Business Education Roundtable. She served on the site councils for El Molino High School, Analy High School and the Sebastopol Union School District. She also helped found the New Ways Workers Program and the West County School to Careers Partnership.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Rue opposed Santa Rosa's plan to discharge wastewater to the ocean or increase river discharge. She formed the Stakeholders Consensus on Reuse that merged information and influence to convince Santa Rosa to use wastewater as a resource. She also founded Citizens for Responsible Water Use and is an original member of the Russian River Watershed Council.

Rue has worked for years with local farm groups, seeking to protect family farms. She was Project Manager for the Sonoma County Farmlands Group and has worked with the California Association of Family Farmers. She was a leader of the Santa Rosa and Sebastopol Urban Growth Boundary campaigns, which fought to protect agricultural land from city sprawl.

Her belief in neighborhood-friendly planning led to involvement in Courtside Village, the first Santa Rosa mixed use development to create a complete community of homes, shops, and parks. She also worked with the Santa Rosa Neighborhood Coalition, Concerned Citizens for Santa Rosa and the Sonoma County Community Foundation Advisory Committee. She was a moderator of the Marin-Sonoma County Transportation Committee and a member of the Hwy. 101 Corridor Advisory Committee.

Rue has served as a county planning commission for 16 years and has a reputation for doing her homework and asking tough questions. She was appointed by two West County supervisors, and has twice been the Commission's chairperson. She recently chaired a statewide conference on responsible water use and succeeded in prioritizing water resources in the county's new general plan.

Among her many awards, Rue was named California Woman of the Year by the state Assembly, 2006 Upstream Swimmer Award by Sonoma County Conservation Action, Environmentalist of the Year by the Sonoma County Conservation Council, County Planning Commissioner of the Year by the California County Planning Commissioners' Association and received the Agent of Change Award from Concerned Citizens for Santa Rosa.