Candidate for
County Supervisor; Marin County; Supervisorial District 2

BALANCING THE COUNTY BUDGET

The most fundamental function of the Board of Supervisors is to ensure that the County is able to maintain a balanced budget while continuing to provide the vital services that local residents count on. David brings more than six years of experience balancing budgets as a Councilmember and former Mayor of the Town of Fairfax.

As the next District Two Supervisor, David will commit to ensuring increased transparency and fiscal accountability around the County's budget and fiscal matters, including:

a) Exploring ways to more effectively and efficiently operate and fund programs that are providing vital services to our most needy residents.

b) Limiting the current practice of hiring over-priced, out-of-County consultants in favor of locally sourced hiring. This change would result in significant cost savings for the County, while simultaneously strengthening our local economy.

c) Eliminating the Supervisors' annual discretionary "slush fund" (the Board collectively spent $360,885 in 2011) and creating a more transparent process in which that funding would be allocated to County departments and then granted to community organizations that are best suited to support the departments in achieving their goals.

IMPLEMENTING FAIR & REASONABLE PENSION REFORM

Implementing pension reform that is both fair to workers and taxpayers will be a key responsibility for our next Supervisor. Solving the County's pension situation is vital to strengthening and maintaining our workforce. To ensure public safety, provide innovative solutions to our transportation and infrastructure challenges and support the essential day-to-day administrative programs upon which so many in our community rely, we must continue to attract, hire and develop a workforce that is the best and the brightest. David's experience with pension reform is unmatched by any other candidate in this race.

As a member of the Fairfax Town Council, David helped bring the Town's pension obligations into balance in 2011. In a process that was inclusive and fair to both workers and taxpayers, the Fairfax Town Council and representative unions instituted the following reforms:

a) Establishing a "two-tier" pension plan system.

b) Raising the age limit or lowering the percentage of retirement income that new hires can anticipate receiving.

c) Mandating that employees agree to pay for half of their retirement benefits. As the son of two public school teachers and the husband of another, David is committed to ensuring that we find a proper balance in developing pension reform that implements wise fiscal policy, assures the delivery of essential public services, and respects the retirement needs of our hard-working County employees.

INVESTING IN PUBLIC SAFETY

Our residents deserve to live in a safe environment. It is crucial that we support our local law enforcement, firefighters and emergency services providers by providing adequate funding, training and the tools they need to do their jobs right. This means:

a) Allocating adequate funding to the Marin County Fire Department, Sheriff's Department and Office Emergency Services to help keep Marin County healthy and safe.

b) Constructing sufficient firebreaks to prevent major wildfire catastrophes and mandating individual homeowner responsibility in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI).

c) Ensuring that the County Department of Public Works is fully staffed to implement the Flood Zone 9 protection program.

PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT & PROMOTING SUSTAINABILITY

As an environmental attorney with over 25 years of experience, David is committed to ensuring that we expand upon the landmark environmental policies that make Marin County unique. Innovative policies like the plastic bag ban and the creation of the Marin Energy Authority have solidified Marin County's position as a leader on environmental issues. David will continue to build Marin's reputation of environmental leadership as District Two Supervisor and ensure that Marin County continues to address the most important issues affecting our environment, including:

a) Increasing the acquisition of "open space" and adequately funding our maintenance of existing County parklands.

b) Implementing plans and programs that ensure the County's readiness for sea-level rise resulting from climate change.

c) Encouraging a stronger commitment to achieving zero waste in Marin County.

SUPPORTING OUR SENIORS & WORKING FAMILIES

Marin County's population is aging at a startling rate. We must ensure that the County is providing significant funding and support to agencies that deliver services to Marin's senior citizens so that they may retire comfortably here in their own community.

Additionally, the growing need in our County for housing, food, human services, affordable childcare, mental health services and drug/alcohol dependency services simply cannot be ignored.

Our community has a long track record of showing deep compassion and devoting substantial resources from governments, nonprofits and charitable organizations to those in need. But we must insist on better coordination of, and collaboration between, our County's public, nonprofit and faith-based services if we are to address this problem in a meaningful way. As Supervisor, David will commit to exploring ways to more effectively operate and fund agencies and organizations that are providing critical services to Marin's senior and low-income populations. David will also ensure that vital safety net programs are not cut + but instead expanded upon + during these tough economic times when these services are most needed.

RESPONSIVE LOCAL GOVERNMENT

A County Supervisor's job is to collaborate with people in the community to address local issues. This is particularly true in the Second District, which spans five different cities and includes a significant number of people who live in unincorporated areas of the County.

The District Two Supervisor must be approachable and accessible in order to provide fair and accurate representation. Constituents should be able to trust that when they call their County Supervisor to discuss concerns, he or she will take the time to listen. As he has for the past six years in Fairfax, David will make listening and responding to constituents' local issues and concerns a top priority as County Supervisor for the Ross Valley.