Candidate for
Council Member; City of Millbrae

I am running to retain my seat on the City Council because I want to continue to help Millbrae reach its full potential. I understand the need for strong leadership in our community, and I know that my experiences will help me to make wise and critical decisions for Millbrae. I was humbled by the support expressed for me by the City Council when it appointed me to the Council earlier this year, as well as by the support the community has shown for me since. I very much want to continue to serve the people of Millbrae.

My top priorities are:

• Building economic strength and sustainability
• Protecting private-property rights
• Ensuring public safety

Professionally, I am a Realtor and owner of a real-estate business, and in these roles I have been a strong advocate for property rights, working with elected officials to keep our community an attractive place to live, work, shop, and do business. If elected I will remain vigilant in protecting the rights of property owners.

Millbrae is a safe community with a small-town feeling. To preserve these qualities, I will work to maintain our public-safety services and help Millbrae continue to attract and retain the best public-service members.

I am the owner/broker at Marshall Realty, which was founded by my father more than 50 years ago. My entire professional career has been in real estate, and I am proud to carry-on the tradition of running a well-respected, independent, small business. As a small-business owner, I understand the importance of strategic planning and smart budgeting and bring these skills to the Council.

In my professional life, I have served as an advocate for sound public policy. I have been on the San Mateo County Association of Realtors (SAMCAR) Board of Directors for five years, am its Immediate-Past President, and have been a member of the Legislative Committee for the last six years. I also hold legislative positions with the California Associate of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors. In a nutshell, my work with local, state, and federal elected officials has centered on advocating for legislation around protecting private-property rights, promoting homeownership, and keeping Millbrae and other local communities strong and attractive places to live, work, shop, and do business. I have established, working relationships with many local elected officials, which helps me to more effectively work with them to make our city and region stronger. Also in my role as President, I guided the SAMCAR budget from essentially break-even to a state of sustainability for the future. Also while President, I used my team-building skills to turn a fragmented group of Board members into a cohesive and productive unit. I bring these experiences to my work on the Council as well. I was recently named a "Woman of Influence" by the Silicon Valley Business Journal for my professional, legislative, and community work.

Prior to my appointment to Council, I served on the former Millbrae Downtown Process Committee, and I now serve as the Council representative to the newly renamed Business Advisory Committee. In these roles and as an interested resident, I have worked to build interest in and bring new business and jobs to Millbrae. If elected, I will bring all of my marketing and negotiation skills to bear on this effort.

I also serve as an alternate Council representative to the Millbrae Cultural Arts and Parks and Recreation Committees. And as a Councilmember, I represent Millbrae on several regional committees including the San Mateo County Library Joint Powers Authority Board, Congestion Management / Environmental Quality Committee, the Peninsula Congestion Relief Alliance Board, and the San Mateo Council of Cities.

My husband, Jose, and I have lived in Millbrae since 1991 and we raised our three children here. My involvement in the community and volunteer experiences are varied. When my daughter was at Mills, I was very active in the Athletics Boosters Club. I chaired the Italian-American Women's Club's Scholarship Committee for several years. I have volunteered many times for RSVP, a program that helps seniors with basic home-maintenance tasks. I have served as local coordinator and fundraiser for Coats for Kids. And most recently, I took over where my late father left off and joined the annual fundraising effort for the San Mateo County Historical Association, earning their "Rookie of the Year" award.

Millbrae has many attributes that we can build on--in particular, our diversity, our sense of community, and our importance as a transportation hub. Millbrae's residents bring with them a wide range of interests, skills, backgrounds, and experiences. When considering how we can work as a community to make Millbrae strong, we can leverage the ideas and knowledge of this diverse collection of people. The thing I love most about Millbrae is its small-town feel. If you make a quick trip to downtown, you are likely to run into many Millbrae friends and neighbors. And in my real estate business, the most rewarding thing I do is help people find their new home. And when I am able to hand them the keys to their new home in Millbrae I couldn't be happier+because I know they have landed in a great community! And any discussion of Millbrae's strengths has to include our status as a key transportation hub. Millbrae is doing a great job of taking advantage of the hub, but there is more work to be done, including fighting to bring revenue-producing developments to the area near BART and Site 1.

As the mayor said in her recent State of the City address, Millbrae is a great city that can do anything that needs doing if the community is involved. I want to be part of that effort. I know that if elected I can be part of a cohesive Council that works together for all of our residents to help Millbrae reach its full potential.

I want to continue to move Millbrae forward. I hope you will be with me.

I respectfully ask for your vote on November 5.