Candidate for
Council Member; City of Lafayette

Prepared for Cathy Tyson Lamorinda Weekly

I was first elected to the Lafayette City Council in 1999.

What are my major accomplishments? Working with staff, volunteers, and other Council members to:

• Strengthen the protections for our hillsides and ridgelines. We have put in place new regulations and zoning that restrict building on our hillsides and ridgelines so that their natural beauty is preserved.
• Identify a site and support the construction of our soon-to-debut award-winning Lafayette Library and Learning Center. We are able to finance the construction and future maintenance of the library through use of our Redevelopment Funds, an $11 M state grant, and the generous contributions of many supporters.
• Revitalize and beautify our downtown. In 1999, we had many empty storefronts. The Council has encouraged attractive development in the downtown that has drawn new merchants and new restaurants to our community and made Lafayette a destination for shoppers and diners alike.
• Completion of our beautiful new Veterans Memorial Building
• Enhancement of our parks, walkways, and trails: With our parkland dedication fees, grants, and donations, we have made many improvements to our local parks, trails, and walkways. These include our Community Park, Buckeye Fields, Leigh Creekside Park, and the multi-sports court at the Community Center; the Moraga Road, Pleasant Hill, and Happy Valley walkways; and an update to our Master Trails Plan.
• Maintain our Fiscal Health: We budget conservatively, allowing us to retain a healthy reserve and earn the highest bond rating in Contra Costa County.
• Work with Eden Housing to plan for new affordable housing for seniors
• Narrow the gap needed to bring all of our roads up to a good condition

• Obtain the funding necessary to bring all of our roads up to a good condition. We have gone to the ballot twice, in 2004 and 2007, and failed to obtain the two-thirds' vote necessary to pass the bond measures that would have ensured we had the funds to bring all of our roads up to a good condition. Without more outside funding, we cannot complete this task.
• Secure more public parking in the downtown. We have made only modest progress on this goal. What are my priorities for the next term?
• Fiscal Soundness: Continue supporting long-range planning, strong fiscal management and retention of our healthy reserve; continue seeking state, federal, and other grants where feasible; maximize use of our Redevelopment Agency's limited tax increment funds. Retain our high quality staff.
• Strong Retail Core: Continue to support a vital, prosperous, and attractive downtown that is pedestrian friendly and attractive to shoppers. Continue attempts to develop additional public parking in the downtown.
• Long-range Downtown Planning: Support for long-range planning in our downtown and help build consensus for a plan that retains our small town feel while meeting community needs
• Infrastructure: Continue to make road maintenance, repair and reconstruction of our public roads a top priority
• Neighborhood preservation: Preserve the unique characteristics of Lafayette's neighborhoods
• Seniors: Support affordable senior housing and critical services to seniors that are economically feasible
• Parks, walkways, and trails: Enhance and expand our parks walkways, and trails, where economically feasible; Continue support of ridgeline and hillside protection. Potential Conflicts? I don't foresee any.

Why am I running for re-election? I believe we need experienced and dedicated leadership to meet the challenges we face in the next four years: repairing and maintaining our residential roads, meeting regional affordable housing goals, retaining our fiscal health, reaching consensus on a long-range plan for our downtown, meeting State threats to local dollars and land use planning, addressing the needs of a growing senior population, and protecting our unique small town environment. I have the background, interest and enthusiasm to serve.