Candidate for
Council Member; City of Pinole

When my wife Kim and I first drove through Pinole almost ten years ago, we said to each other "what a beautiful town, wouldn't it be great to buy a house here?" Fast forward a couple years, and we were Pinole homeowners.

Now in our eighth year as Pinole residents, I have decided that I would like to give back to the community by becoming a member of the Pinole City Council.

In the coming weeks as the November 2 election comes closer, I will most likely come knocking on your door to introduce myself and tell you why I'll bring new talents, skills, attitude and perspective to the Pinole Council. But right now, let me just give you a quick background.

I am a Northern California native. I received my bachelor's degree from U.C. Davis (1979) and earned a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Southern California (1989). And other than a decade in the southern half of the state during graduate school and after, I have lived my entire life in Northern California.

I am a marketing manager for national food manufacturer Batter Blaster (http://www.batterblaster.com) where I am responsible for sales and marketing for the West, Mountain, and Midwest regions. My corporate accounts include Safeway (including Vons, Randalls/Tom Thumb, Dominick's, and Genuardi's), Kroger (including Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Fry's, QFC, and Dillon), Save Mart/Lucky, SuperValu (including Albertsons, Jewel, and Cub), Meijer, and Target. I have over thirty years of business experience, including owning and operating small businesses. I currently own a California court-approved online home study traffic school (http://www.luckytrafficschool.com), which is a city of Pinole licensed business.

As a board member of the Arts Education Foundation, I helped raise thousands of dollars for Pinole area arts programs.

I've also been an active participant in the Pinole General Plan public workshops held over the previous few years.

I am a member of the Pinole Rotary Club.

I have the education and experience to sort through budgets and financial records and find real solutions to our city's financial crisis.

Pinole is a wonderful place and I will work hard towards making it even better. Public safety is the #1 concern of city government, so sensible budgeting and adequate funding of our police and fire departments will be my top priority.

Additionally, the Pinole Police Department needs the resources to stop gang activity in Pinole. Our town is becoming a city but it doesn't need big city problems.

I will be a representative for all Pinole residents, bring a professional demeanor to the Council and will help bring an end to the diviseness that has characterized Pinole politics over recent years.

We need to pull together to find solutions to our city's current budgetary crisis. One part of this solution is my plan to decrease city expenditures by over $1 million per year without layoffs, salary cuts, or reduction in the current level of city services.