Candidate for
Council Member; City of Larkspur

Philosophy

I Love Working Together in Larkspur

When I first saw Marin County and Larkspur in the 1970's as a wide eyed twentysomething on a Golden Gate Transit bus from San Francisco, where I was teaching and working, I knew that this is where I wanted to live and have a family. The physical setting and the small town atmosphere was comfortable to me as it was similar to the Midwest town where I grew up, complete with a community baseball diamond in the middle of the neighborhoods. Larkspur and the Twin Cities felt like home with walking and biking to schools and shopping and neighbors who greet you with a smile. Making the decision to live in Larkspur was easy. Commuting to San Francisco in the 1980's and spending 80 hours on the bus a month was rough. The Loma Prieta earthquake and experiencing it in my office south of Market Street, with the ferry as the only way home, helped me with my decision to relocate my office to Larkspur where I could walk to work and spend more time with my family.

Marin County's towns and cities offer a very interesting place to work as they form a necklace of communities along the Bay and 101 freeway with Mount Tamalpais and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the Pacific Ocean as the spectacular backdrop and constant reminder of the predominance of nature in each decision we make regarding our place in it. This has been a guiding principle for me personally and professionally. The streets of Larkspur are oriented to views of Tam and I am inspired every day walking them and realize just how fortunate we all are to be here together.

Living and working in town, I discovered that the tradition of Marin residents working together through the collaboration of their local elected representatives has resulted in over 35 plus shared service agreements which are managed through a collection of joint powers authorities providing services ranging from our emergency radio network to streetlights, cable tv and taxi cab regulation. It is this sharing of services between cities and the County that has allowed Marin to thrive and preserve its quality of life.

We are very unique in having achieved this level of efficiency and we should work hard to encourage this shared approach to local government services. It has been possible to date because of the high quality of the people available to serve on local elected councils, strengthened by the depth of experience of those having serving on local appointed boards and commissions.

After having lived in Larkspur and the Twin Cities for 26 years, I recognize it is the people and the tradition of working together that is the true character of our community.

We will confront many challenges in the near future both fiscal and physical. Providing services with reductions in revenues amid increasing demands will require commitment, thoughtful creativity, leadership and an open communications style fitting to the wide range of ages and incomes of Larkspur residents. Infrastructure and public facilities must continue to accommodate both current and future needs. This will test our community will to manage the changes that lie ahead for all of us, including those involving climate and rising sea levels.

Let's work together to develop a shared vision for the future of our City and collaboratively, we can face these challenges.