Candidate for
Director; Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District; Division 8

Why Am I Seeking This Office:

You know me, I'm not finished. There's so much more to do, or that could be done. And frankly, many of the hardworking men and women who work for the fire service here in Rancho Cordova have asked me to continue on the board.

There are three specific things that need to be addressed next year:

• We need to maintain a balanced budget and realize some of the fiscal savings that were promised would result from the merger. So far, only $300,000 has been saved, and with a $72,000,000 budget...that's a drop in the bucket.

• We need to continue to keep our Fire Stations open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It's not on the table yet, but the district with which we are merging has "rolling brownouts" in a couple of their stations. They also need to be educated on how important the Cordova Community area is to the County as a whole, so that they will appreciate how many people currently work here and how many people are ultimately going to live here.

• We need to continue the current level of Emergency Medical Service that the residents in Rancho Cordova and Gold River enjoy. Again, we are merging with a district that operates differently. 72% of the call volume for Sac County is medical assistance needed. Our people are very proud of being able to provide that service to local residents, and they don't want that to change.

Should We Look at Closing Fire Stations:

This is definitely going to be on the agenda for this coming year. In the rush to the merger, it's been, at times, a challenge to get this discussion held over to next year. South of the river, we've got one of the oldest facilities, on Folsom Boulevard, and it looks like it. We need to look at all the stations and determine their service "sphere of influence" so to speak. We also have to compare the service needs within each of those spheres of influence. Many existing stations simply have to be remodeled. It will be determined that some stations will have overlapping service areas, but that probably won't happen here in this area.

How Can We Improve Service:

We actually enjoy an excellent level of service here. We have stations at logical intervals throughout the community. We survey everyone who is assisted with emergency medical service, and 95% rate the service as excellent or satisfactory. We even finally have crash/fire rescue active on site at Mather. We have an existing road network that promotes emergency response from the station locations into the neighborhoods. The biggest challenge in this area will be to continue that level of service with the new district. We can improve service by making sure that the new neighborhoods and office parks to be built will be served by new stations at those locations, so that we don't get stretched too thin and response times increase. There are also some road improvements that are needed to facilitate that goal, such as the extension of International across the Folsom South Canal to connect to Sunrise, and the extension of Zinfandel to connect with Eagle's Nest Road at Douglas Road.

What Should be Changed:

Actually, change is not the issue. In that this is a brand new district, it's more a question of everyone learning to work together in a new environment with new people and new processes. Everyone's management style is different, and all of us, whether we are board members, firefighters, or managers will be trying to shape a new culture without losing the good parts of the old. We all need to be open with each other. We need to stay involved in the local communities.

Why Choose Me:

For almost 25 years, I have worked hard to keep this community a wonderful place in which to live and work. I have been involved at all levels, both locally and within the County, so that we maintain the important place within the region that this community has earned. Local residents trust me to know the issues and their concerns, and then to actually get something done to address problems. They know that because I've had such a range of experiences in my 33 years here in northern California, I can reach out to "the world" to focus people and bring the resources necessary to create opportunities and make changes when needed. They know that I represent residents, business, and employees equally. That's why my support in this election includes longtime residents, friends, local firefighters, Assemblymembers Anthony Pescetti and Dave Cox, County Supervisors Don Nottoli and Roger Niello, and AFSCME, the union which represents the clerical staff at Sac County FPD.