City of ChicoCandidate for City Council

Kate and I moved to Chico in 1994. We have raised two extraordinary kids here. We've served on boards and commissions, have explored every nook and cranny of Bidwell Park, have served meals at Torres, and have dug in to our community.

I grew up in Ohio and earned my Bachelor's Degree from Bowling Green State University, a college and town much like Chico State and Chico.  From there I ventured to Alaska, where I spent three years in Fairbanks, earning my Master's Degree from the University of Alaska. At 14 I got my first job as a bike mechanic.  Throughout high school I worked as a stockboy at our local JC Penny store.  In college I worked summers for the department of transportation, mowing weeds and picking up road kill (yep). I worked as an electrician's assistant.  I worked as a painter.  I worked as a clerk in a package store.  I worked for a moving company, learning to wrap a moose head in bubble wrap (yep).  Later, I worked as the manager of a private educational services company in Berkeley, Ca.  This diverse work life has given me a deep appreciation for the great value of honest labor and thoughtful management.

In Chico I've spent twenty-four years as a Communications Manager in the private local technology sector. I know how to lead teams, set clear goals, and acheive success through collaborative leadership. This history has prepared me to be a council member who will work tirelessly every day to earn your trust and your partnership.

This is why I am asking for your vote:

Collaboration.  Communication.  Dialog.  Building bridges. Celebrating that there is more that unites us than divides us.  This is at the core of who I am.  This is what drives my brand of civic engagement.  This kind of leadership is not about easy compromise.  It’s about putting in the time and exhausting effort to find that little bit of common ground on which to build solutions while holding fast to core principles.  I’ve put in that time.  I’ve cooked and served meals at the Torres Shelter for over ten years.  I served for ten years on the Park Commission.  I’ve hosted block parties to draw neighbors into front yards and new friendships. I’ve worked in the technology sector in Chico for more than twenty years, directing communications and building corporate relationships.  I served on the Gateway Science Museum when it was still a museum without walls, and now serve on the board of directors at Torres, working to build critical bridges across the network of service providers. 

This is who I am:

• I am a tireless leader who works through collaboration and dialog
• I have more than two decades of service to our community, including ten years on the Park Commission
• I am determined to see us restore our parks, greenways, and urban forest
• I believe our homelessness challenges must be addressed through services and affordable housing, not criminalizing poverty
• After twenty-four years of work as a Communications Director in the private technology sector here in Chico, I know how to manage and I know the value of growing good, sustainable jobs
• I know that we can depolarize our city.  We are all Chicoans, and there is far more that unites us than divides us

The bottom line: Our diversity is what makes this a vibrant community. Healthy progress is possible when we see each other as neighbors with a shared future.  It’s time for us to affirm that Together, We’re Chico.