Candidate for
Council Member; City of Pleasant Hill

Pleasant Hill is more than just a city. We are a community where people care about each other. Since first being elected to the Pleasant Hill City Council in 2002, I have been committed to advancing the quality of life in our city. Integrity and goodwill are forces that drive me. As your Councilmember and three-term Mayor, I'm proud of the positive impact we have made in Pleasant Hill on issues that are important to our community.

One of my proudest contributions has been the founding of the Pleasant Hill `s award winning annual Community Service Day, now celebrating its 10th anniversary. Pleasant Hill residents identify projects that will beautify or improve our community. On Community Service Day, thousands of residents of all ages come together to spend the day working on projects that better our city.

As an educator, I firmly believe well-educated students are essential to our future. I established the Pleasant Hill Education Initiative to enhance educational opportunities for Pleasant Hill students, and better prepare them for college, careers, and life. The Initiative is a community-wide volunteer effort to help provide opportunities for students to develop community awareness and leadership skills and make learning fun and interesting. The Initiative has placed mentors in our schools and hosted after school workshops and forums.

As an enthusiastic supporter of the Pleasant Hill community, I have championed projects to help improve our community. I developed stricter non-smoking laws, and co-authored the recent firearms ordinance to make our community safer. I also increased funding to improve city streets, make our city safer, increase library hours, and maintained our outstanding public services, all while being fiscally responsible.

Supporting local small businesses helps our economy and our city thrive. I supported grants to help local small businesses succeed, and helped bring new businesses to our community. I have also fought inappropriate development to protect our neighborhoods and maintain the small town atmosphere that's part of Pleasant Hill's character.

For over 40 years, I've been a member of the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley, where I served as Professor of Optometry, Associate Dean, and Contact Lens Clinic Chief. My enthusiasm for my students and the University keep me there on a regular basis. I continue to teach, mentor, and consult as Professor Emeritus for the School of Optometry.

I have lived in the beautiful Pleasant Hill community some 20 years with my wonderful wife Dawn Block. We have four grown kids and a wonderful grandson.