City Council — City of La Mesa

I was first elected to the La Mesa City Council in November of 2016.

On the City Council, my priorities have been housing affordability, public safety, and open government. You can read more about what I’ve done on my “Working for La Mesa” page.

I live in La Mesa, just east of the Village in a small historic home. I’m a native to East County, and I graduated from Valhalla High School and Fuerte Elementary. I earned my Eagle Scout badge with the local Troop 362.

La Mesa was always a part of growing up, whether it was skating at Aquarius, learning ballroom dance at Mr. Benjamin's, or celebrating birthdays in Collier Park. My first job in high school was with the East County Economic Development Council on La Mesa Blvd., less than a mile from where I live today.

I graduated from UC San Diego, and earned my law degree at NYU School of Law. My professional career began in private practice at DLA Piper, representing large local clients like Qualcomm. I also worked as pro bono counsel for veterans through the San Diego Homeless Court Program, and for the League of Conservations Voters San Diego.

I joined the Jerry Brown for Governor Campaign in 2010. I was appointed by Governor Brown to serve in his administration, where I worked on policy for affordable housing and economic development.

Currently I serve as the Executive Director and General Counsel at Circulate San Diego, advocating for public transit, safe walkable streets, greenhouse gas reduction, and affordable homes.

As an advocate, I have delivered for the region:

• I won a campaign to transform empty MTS parking lots into affordable homes, and it is showing real results.
  
  
• I led a successful campaignfor the local transit agency to update their troubled Compass Card fare payment system. 
  
  
• I organized a successful and bi-partisan coalition to win incentives for building affordable homes near transit.

Civic engagement is very important to me. I co-founded La Mesa Conversations, a local forum for La Mesa residents to share their opinions on matters of local importance.  I also co-founded the San Diego Leadership Alliance to train young professionals throughout the region to be involved with civic life.

Over the last few years, I have had the honor of serving my community in a number of capacities, and have won several recognitions:

• Former chairperson of the League of Conservation Voters’ annual environmental report card
• Former Board member of the La Mesa Foothills Democratic Club
• Co-Founder and Former Steering Committee member for La Mesa Conversations
• Former Ex Officio Board member of the San Diego County Young Democrats
• Appointed member of the City of San Diego’s Climate Action Plan Implementation Working Group
• Named San Diego Metropolitan magazine’s 40 Under 40
• Named one of the San Diego Daily Transcript’s Top Young Attorneys
• Named one of the San Diego Transcript's 40 Under 40 business professionals
• Profiled by the Union Tribune (2013)
• Profiled by San Diego CityBeat
• Profiled by the Union Tribune (2019)

• I believe society should work for everyone, not just some.

• I believe government can and should be a force for good.

• If re-elected, I'll continue to work to ensure that La Mesa is a city that works for everyone.

I have lived in La Mesa for 34 years with my wife and raised three children. With a 29 year career as a State Park Superintendent I’ve developed management skills and created statewide community involvement programs. As president of the Cleveland National Forest Foundation for 25 years I have preserved open space, protected wilderness areas and through the court system helped to change state laws that will reduce pollution and build healthier communities. I’ve served on the Board of Heartland Human Relations and continue to work with community organizations to protect human rights.

For the city of La Mesa I have served on the Wellness Committee to improve nutrition for our youth. Recently I advocated for the establishment of the City's Citizen Task Force on Homelessness and now serve on the Citizen Public Safety Oversight Task Force.

My past experience also includes being a supervising State Peace Officer for 22 years, an instructor for Community Policing as well as a consultant for cultural diversity, youth leadership and community involvement

La Mesa is facing an unprecedented threat to its health and economic well being due to the COVID-19 virus. The pandemic has had disastrous effects on our livelihoods, our businesses, and our ability to raise revenues. There are no clear indications as to when conditions will improve. “Business as usual” no longer works in this environment. We need to take a fresh and honest look at our budget priorities and to implement new and innovative strategies that put our people and businesses back to work again. 

I want to see a vibrant La Mesa citywide. A community that believes in equity, justice—and one committed to leave no one behind.

This is an optimistic vision for our future. But with goals based on sound principles and best practices, together we can overcome the challenges that lie ahead

It has been my honor to serve you on the La Mesa City Council for the past 8 years.  Working together we have achieved important goals that are making La Mesa a better place to live, work and play.  Completion of the Climate Action Plan, allowing for ADU’s to ease the housing affordability crises, updating our communications by live streaming Council meetings, updating our website to make it user friendly, improving traffic safety by adopting Vision Zero are accomplishments all of us should be proud of. 

 Born in La Mesa and being a resident nearly 30 years, I am committed to our City and understand its needs.  Prior to serving on the Council, I was a La Mesa Planning Commissioner for 10 years.  My service to our community has included volunteering for the City’s Pet Therapy Program, serving on the Boards of both the East County YMCA and the Boys and Girls Clubs of East County.  I am proud to have raised my daughter in La Mesa, where she attended Lemon Avenue Elementary, Parkway Middle School and Grossmont High School.

La Mesa is facing difficult times ahead due to negative the effects of COVD-19, these affects have and will continue to challenge all of us in the future.  Now more than ever we need leadership that sees the big economic and social picture and will guide us through these times with a steady hand and a balanced perspective.  Having served two terms as a Councilwoman I am dedicated to seeing us through these hard times and making sure that we continue to provide the services our residents need.  My experience and understanding of these challenges is what we need now.

 We must continue to look for ways to revitalize our local businesses and our local community.  Having led the way as the only small business owner on the Council, empathize with the working people of La Mesa. We need creative approaches to help local businesses adapt to a new way of working.  A few of my ideas have already been implemented, sidewalk and parking lot dining, waiving business license fees, insisting on grant programs to benefit businesses.  The success of our community depends on our ability to thrive.

La Mesans deserve safety and peace of mind, we must continue to make La Mesa a welcome and safe place for all and must continue to staff law enforcement and first responders at levels where they can do their jobs.  Adding staff to deal with non-violent crimes while freeing sworn officers to deal with violent crimes is a must.  Adding more officers to reduce response times is a must.  Now more than ever we need a city council dedicated to keeping La Mesa safe. 

I first became a resident of La Mesa in 1974 when my father accepted a coaching position with the San Diego Chargers. My brothers Michael, Kevin and I attended La Mesa Dale Elementary, La Mesa Jr. High (LMAAC), and we all graduated from Helix High (Helix Charter High School). Upon graduating from Helix in 1982, I earned a football scholarship to the University of Arizona. I was captain of the football team, an All-American, and inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame. In 1985, I was drafted by the Detroit Lions. Due to an injury, my football career was cut short, and I returned to my hometown of La Mesa.

During my career, I have served as Agency Field Leader, District Operations Manager, Regional Sales Manager, and team leader in a variety of industries. My expertise includes team leadership, operations management, and strategic planning. I have partnered with corporate leaders and business owners helping them achieve operational objectives through developing enterprise level solutions and optimizing business processes.

I have represented the City of La Mesa as a Student, Athlete, Volunteer, Businessman, and I look forward to representing La Mesa as a City Council member.

My campaign slogan is 'Better Together' which sums up how I approach politics and what my approach would be as a La Mesa City Councilperson. We need to work across political parties, bring public servants and citizens together to make La Mesa a better place to live, work and raise a family. I am self funding my campaign through family and friends so that I can be as objective as possible when considering what is best for La Mesa. I believe in the American Flag and what it stands for: Life, Liberty and Justice for all.

I have lived in La Mesa area for over 25 years now, and I am happy to call La Mesa my home. I work with dealing with tough issues on a daily basis and work with many different departments with different goals and have to negotiate and think outside the box on a regular basis. This experience will help me get things done in the City Council that would benefit the people of La Mesa.

I believe that the City Council has the following responsibilities:

• Listen to the people, these are the people you owe your position to.
• Be the voice of the people, put your projects to the side.
• Keep the community safe, support our first responders.
• Protect our schools, don’t overcrowd our city that will overcrowd our schools.
• Government should be transparent and open to the people.