League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA November 6, 2012 Election
	Dorsey Moore Answers Questions Candidate for Santa Clara County Open Space Authority Director; District 4

The questions were prepared by the Leagues of Women Voters of Santa Clara County and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What experience or training do you have which would help the District meet its goals?

The focus of my life's work is creating sustainable communities through preserving open space, sustainable agriculture, local economic development, empowering under-resourced young adults, environmental justice, and valuing the diversity in our local community. For the past 25 years I have worked in the nonprofit, business and government sectors making local communities more sustainable places to live, work and play.

My professional experience includes managing environmental conservation projects (e.g., urban street tree planting, construction of community gardens, riparian corridor restoration, trail construction and maintenance, park restoration, graffiti abatement, storm water pollution prevention, and urban blight reduction) and developing local policies to use market forces to drive environmental protection and local economic development.

As a volunteer I have served on the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority (OSA) + Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) since 2005 including three years as chairperson. My work has helped the Board of Directors understand how OSA can position itself to be a leader in driving regional policies and programs that not only encourage protecting the remaining open space land we have left, but also promote local economic development. Since 2003 I am have volunteered for Santa Clara County Parks in the adopt-a-trail program.

In 2007, I earned my MBA in Sustainable Management from the Presidio School of Management and a BA in geology/geography from Denison University.

2. What is your evaluation of the financial condition of the District?

The Districts main challenge is its budget size; a $4 million dollar annual budget will not allow it to fulfill its organizational mission. By joining forces with organizations, special districts and agencies with common or related community goals, OSA can leverage its resources to have a greater impact. OSA has had some success with this in the past, but it could do better in the area.

Ideally organizations should have a diverse set of revenue streams to reduce the budgetary impact if one revenue stream is eliminated. Over 90% of OSA's operating revenue comes from Benefit Assessment District #1. The Open Space Authority should develop a financial strategic plan that would include a diverse spectrum of revenue sources.

I committed to helping to diversify OSA's funding base by looking into earned income revenue streams that will make it less dependent on public money.

3. In what ways would you collaborate with other governmental entities and community groups to achieve the District's goals?

I believe OSA can play a critical role in creating a sustainable Santa Clara County. OSA is uniquely positioned to have a significant influence on how we manage and integrate our local resources. Opportunities abound in collaborating with other governmental entities on traditional environmental protection issues (e.g., open space preservation, trails, habitat conservation, etc.). Through collaboration among similar organizations there can be economies of scale, which will allow all agencies to make more efficient use of existing resources.

I am committed to pursuing new opportunities for collaboration that are emerging in the healthcare/wellness, local sustainable agriculture, local economic development areas. By leveraging historically "fractured" community assets in innovative ways we can create and demonstrate value to multiple regional stakeholders.

I believe there is a way to leverage public and private resources to not only protect open space, but also to increase community health/wellness and strengthen the local economy as well.

My knowledge of the organization, key regional players, and understanding how to create regional, cross-sector collaborations will help increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the agency.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Please answer each question in no more than 400 words. Direct references to opponents are not permitted.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 16, 2012 05:10
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