Candidate for
Council Member; City of Morgan Hill

My professional career began in college where I started and ran a business publishing telephone directories for universities and managed a taxi company. My public service began as a surveyor for the City of Pittsburgh. After graduate school I worked for the City of Rockville, MD as a Budget Director and Community Development Manager. When I left, the City gave me an award for having managed the City's budget as tightly as if I was spending the money from my wallet. My employer moved me to California in 1980, where I rose to Director of Public Works in Rancho Palos Verdes, then became City Manager in Palos Verdes Estates. There I learned to manage staff, balance budgets, deliver quality services and work with Council. My family moved to Morgan Hill in 1989, where I served as Director of Public Works until 1995 Among my accomplishments in Morgan Hill are building the first phase of Butterfield (then Sutter) Blvd., rebuilding the City's fire hydrants, and building the waste water treatment plant in conjunction with the City of Gilroy. I was also simultaneously Finance Director from 1990 to 1991, where I worked with the City Manager to balance the budget, eliminating a projected 25% deficit. I subsequently served as Director of Public Works in Daly City and Deputy Director in San Jose. Currently I work for Monterey County. I am a Registered Civil Engineer in California which allowed me to work as a partner in two Engineering Consulting businesses to help numerous cities solve problems and run more efficiently.

My civic involvement has included an appointment to the Santa Clara County Measure A/B (Transportation Sales Tax) Citizens Watchdog Committee, where I also served as Audit Committee Chairperson, and on the San Mateo County Transportation Technical Advisory Committee. I have been a member of the Morgan Hill Rotary Club, Boy Scouts and as a Board Member of Congregation Emeth. At the National level, I serve on two committees of the American Public Works Association, Education and Buildings & Grounds. I've been married for 29 years to Esther and have three adult children, all of whom attended Morgan Hill public schools.

I'm a Baby Boomer. My dad dropped out of school in the 8th grade to support his sisters and my mom graduated early at 16 from high school in order to go to work as a bookkeeper. After service as a Marine in WWII, my dad worked most of his career managing a grocery store. I observed how hard he worked, which gave me a strong ethic but also encouraged me to pursue higher education. After attending public schools through high school, I attended Carnegie-Mellon University, served as a member of the Student Senate, student member of the University Board of Trustees, President of Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity, and graduated with BS in Civil Engineering and later with an MS in Public Policy & Management.