By John McCowen

Some of you may have been students of my mother, Virginia McCowen, who taught English at Pomolita School. Others may have known my father, Hale "Bob" McCowen, a local attorney who later served as judge.

When I was a kid, it seemed like I couldn't go anywhere without people asking "Are you Bob and Virginia's son?" As I grew up I came to value the weaving together of family and community relationships. New residents to our community soon become part of the weave.

As a kid I picked prunes and pears, which was a common experience for local junior high and high school kids. I also did yard work. After school and on weekends my friends and I would walk all over, venturing out Low Gap Road or down to the River. We took it for granted that it was safe to play in the creeks and river.

I graduated from Chico State University with a BA in English. I worked part time as an instructor at Butte Community College while taking post graduate classes in history.

Since then I have over thirty years of self-employed work experience, first as a gardener/landscaper, then as a housepainter and finally as a hands on property manager. I bought older properties in need of repair. The way to make it pencil out was to do all the management and as much of the repair and maintenance work as I could.

A little over twenty years ago I began serving on the Board of Directors of local non-profit organizations and local government committees.

I currently serve on the Board of Directors of the Ukiah Senior Center and the Ukiah Valley Cultural and Recreational Center.

I am also a member of the Homeless Services Planning Group and the Buddy Eller Center Homeless Shelter Advisory Council where I have consistently advocated for improved mental health crisis services.

I also attend, on a time available basis, a large number of non-profit and government meetings to become better informed on the issues and to advocate for specific policies or actions.

Over the years I have painted out graffiti in the greater Ukiah area on a volunteer basis. For the last five years I have coordinated my volunteer efforts with the Ukiah Police Department to make sure the graffiti is documented before it is painted out.

I continue to be a regular participant in volunteer creek, river and community clean-ups, and often do clean-up work on my own.

My family came to California by wagon train in 1857 and settled in Potter Valley the next year. They moved into Ukiah in 1880. As a fifth generation resident of Ukiah, I care deeply about the future of our community.

Increased pressure for growth and development now threaten the small town quality of life which we presently enjoy. We will have growth. That is not the question. The question is whether we plan for it or just let it happen and fall victim to the same type of sprawl, congestion and crime that plagues other areas.

During nearly nine years of service on the City and County Planning Commissions, I have participated in hundreds of land use decisions, including use permits, subdivisions, general plan amendments and more.

During the past four years on the City Council, I have been a leader in opposing poorly thought out development proposals and encouraging the City and County to work together on planning and other issues.

It is critical that we have a comprehensive planning process that considers the needs of the community before growth takes place. We must plan for mitigations and for the infrastructure that will be needed to support new development and we must insure that the developers pay their fair share.

Currently, the City adopts its own General Plan. The County is in the process of adopting the Ukiah Valley Area Plan. However, without a common vision for growth and development, it is likely we will continue to see a hodge podge of poorly thought out development.

The key to City and County cooperation is to reach a tax sharing agreement, something they have failed to do for nearly thirty years. Currently, whether they admit it or not, the City and County are in competition for the next large generator of sales tax.

With tax sharing in place we can have true valley wide planning, not merely for land use, but also for economic development, water policy, traffic circulation, housing policy, enhanced public safety and more.

Given the current financial crisis it has never been more important for the City and County to work cooperatively together. Its time to end 30 years of bureaucratic gridlock and put the public interest first.