Candidate for
Council Member; City of Tracy

I came to the Tracy area as a child when my family moved to Vernalis from Newark in the late 1950's. I had the benefit of growing up in the country and participating in the family farming operation. After graduation from Patterson High School in 1968, I joined the U.S. Air Force the following year. After 6 ½ years in the military, including a tour in Viet Nam, I returned to Maciel Farms, joining my father and brother in producing tomatoes, beans and sugar beets in the Tracy and Vernalis areas.

In 1981, I became a volunteer Reserve Police Officer with the Tracy Police Department, and in 1983 made the decision to leave agriculture for a career in law enforcement. I became a full time Tracy Police officer and over the next 23 years held every rank in the Department except that of Police Chief. I retired in July of 2006, with my final assignment being Captain of the Patrol Operations Bureau.

As wife of twenty years, Marjorie, and I pondered our future beyond my retirement from police work, we made a conscious decision to stay in Tracy to be near our six daughters and eight grand-children, all of whom live in the region. Marjorie and I have lived within the City limits for nearly all of our marriage and my police career, where the children attended local public schools. (We did live in Manteca for about four years. While it is a fine town in its own right, Tracy was the place for us.)

While I was confident the time was right for me to step away from law enforcement, I continued to have a strong desire to remain involved with our community. Seeking a seat on the City Council seemed a logical next step in my relationship with Tracy. I believe my deep roots in the community, my extensive background in agriculture and my years of service with the Police Department, where problem solving, decision making and the ability to work with people were requisite skills, give me unique and unmatched tools with which to serve Tracy as a member of the City Council.