Candidate for
Council Member; City of Los Angeles; District 2

Raised in a Navy family from the Midwest, my father's conservative views were aligned with the Eisenhower/Goldwater Republicans of his day. On Dec. 7th, 1941, Dad survived the attack on Pearl Harbor (serving on the U.S.S. St. Louis) and fought the War in the furthest locations of the Pacific theatre for many years. After the War he stayed enlisted, married the girl-next door (literally), raised a family and retired at Chief Petty Officer rank when he was hand-selected by President Nixon to become one of the very first employees of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Mother was from a long-established family tree that stretched back in United States history to before the War for Independence and was herself, a committed Roosevelt/Kennedy Democrat. She was the recording secretary for her local Democratic Party Club and became office manager and secretary to John Dingle (D-16th MI) who is today the longest-serving member of the House in Wash D.C. Dingell's very first run for that office was announced to our neighbors in my parent's home.

I grew up with politics at the kitchen table. I heard all sides of every current event and social argument in the 60's & 70's with Mom and Dad using persuasion to convince me of their points of view, but cleverly doing it so that really what they were teaching me was to think critically...to think analytically, whenever it came to making decisions for myself.

I first got involved in Los Angeles politics as a response to the outrages being committed in our Valley communities that were caused by gratuitous over-development, which demolished many of our single-family homes and rent-stabilized units.

As an individual stakeholder, I began to advocate at City Hall for increased re-location funds for those who had been displaced by the demolition of their homes and were forced to move to further outlying communities or out-of-state in order to find affordable housing. After months of advocacy, the City Council finally raised the relocation funds from $3,000 to $9,000 for individuals and to $17,000 for seniors and disabled. That was my first political victory in the City of Los Angeles.

Soon after, I ran for our local Studio City Neighborhood council and was elected to serve on the Board representing the Renters of our community who had been so badly abused. Ed Begley Jr. endorsed my candidacy because of my reputation as a green activist, and that helped the stakeholders to understand my campaign immensely. I ended up the top vote-getter in the 2007 SCNC election and have served on the Board since then--almost 3 years now.

I was appointed to serve as the Chair of our Environmental Affairs Committee and also am a voting member of our Government Affairs Committee.

The neighborhood council is a microcosm of our City Council.

There is no process City Council participates in that I have not participated in on our SCNC board including taking stakeholder testimony on the issues, organizing, motivating and creating agendas for action for our Environmental Affairs committee, bringing ethics issues forward to our Government Affairs committee and to our Board members for votes to support or oppose the various city policies and actions that affect our neighborhoods.

I have a perfect attendance record for all regular SCNC board meetings and am always prepared and up-to-date on the agenda items before each meeting takes place.

I am the only candidate in the race for CD-2 who is endorsed by the Green Party of Los Angeles County, LA Greens and the San Fernando Valley Greens.

I am the only candidate currently serving as an active, voting, Board Member on a mature neighborhood council. I have served as an elected official for almost three years now.

I am the only candidate completely committed to the values of Grassroots Democracy, Ecological Wisdom, Social Justice, Non-Violence, Community-Based Economics, Gender Equity, Decentralization of Power, Diversity, Accountability/Responsibility and Future Focus.

I am the only candidate who represents the grassroots movement that defeated measure B and elected Carmen Trutanich to City Attorney.