Council Member, District 4 — City of San Marcos

No

This is a plan fraught with many problems. Again, we are moving the problem from the prisons to the community instead of working to safeguard prisoners while maintaing their state of incarceration. Whether tent cities or other creative ideas, moving criminals to the community as a prophylactic measure against the chance of infection is not the correct answer. The state goverment needs to deal with this problem and not put it on local communities. 

Coming out of the Covid-19 Pandemic: Keeping our community informed as to the threat level presented, encouraging by example and communication that we all need to do our part ot keep safe and ensure those most vulnerable are sheperded through these very trying times.

Revitalization of our economy: Our local and regional businesses have taken a hit and we need to foster an environment where they can return to full operation. Tjis can be assisted by relaxing zoning restrictions, permitting processes and working with businesses to maximize support funds from regional, state and federal sources.

Efficiency in mobility: There is a trend to engage 19th century technology, buses and trains, to keep us out of our cars and off the roads we have paid to use. I disagree with this as a one-size-fits-all philosophy. Public transportation has a place, but we need to look to the future of individual and group transportation by improving our non-fossil fuel systems. 

Leading the public safety operation of the San Diego Sheriff's largest command and managing the sheriff's personnel operations division.

I was the station commander for a community of over 125,000 people with over 100 employees under my care and an operation budget in excess of 10 million dollars. I worked with department heads in the city, county and sheriff;s command to keep our communities safe, running efficiently and lowering the crime rate when all other commands saw a rise in crime.

As the perosnnel mamager, I was responsibile for the administrative functions of recruiting, testing, hiring, assigning, promting and career movements of a 4,000 employee organization. I wrote new policies and updated processes to more efficiently run the day-to-day operations of the personnel division. 

One size does not fit all. I don't subscribe to the "housing first" philosophy as a basis for solving the problem. There are some who will benefit from short-term housing to get back on their feet, but there are many more who suffer from mental health issues that preclude them from living in what we model as standardized housing. There are still others who have given up on bettering themselves and live off the social welfare climate we have created out of a sense of guilt (out of sight, out of mind). There are jobs that can be performed as part of a rehabilitation process from homelessness as a n=mindset to re-establishing a sense of self worth, dignity and the feeling of accomplishment by serving the community through necessary services.  

Preserving our open spaces, trail system, and parks. I am against sprawl and support strong towns. Recent projects that have been considered or approved in our region will cost our communities more money in long-term maintenance than they receive in tax revenue. The homes have a larger footprint, have more automobiles and are built away from town. The projects encroach on our open spaces that affects native plants, wildlife, and take away our valuable open spaces. The result is more vehicles, more traffic, and longer commutes that lead to the release of greenhouse gas into our atmosphere. We need to be smarter when addressing the housing needs of our community. I will support more affordable options for our citizens. We need smart growth, more density, with smaller units. I believe we need to build near the center of the city, close to the freeway, along transit, and near shopping. 

Reduction of Traffic congestion. San Marcos is the hub through the North County region. We have two colleges with an enrollment of approximately 10,000 students each. In addition, many vehicles drive through our City to get to/from work and other places. We need to work together as a region to develop a long-term transit plan. We need a plan that moves people efficiently to and from the major work centers along the California 78 corridor. I would like to see a completion of comprehensive traffic studies using the collection of traffic data and other smart city innovations to better plan and reduce traffic.

Perserve City Services and Support local small businesses. Covid-19 has devistated our small businesses. We must loosen regulations so our local small businesses can quickly adapt to changing helath regulations. I supoort grants and other assistance to help our small businsess survive the pandemic. I will use my budget experience to wisely manage citizens' tax dollars to perserve vital City services. 

My life has been dedicated to public and human services. In Michigan, I worked as a civilian employee for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office as an emergency communications specialist.  I was later Chief of Staff to Wayne County Commissioner Philp Cavanagh. I worked with the Commission and the County’s Ways and Means Committee overseeing a budget of over $2 billion dollars. 

I currently work for the San Diego Regional Center (SDRC). The SDRC is the largest non-profit agency in San Diego who coordinates and funds services for over 32,000 persons with developmental disabilities and their families. I have enjoyed my career in service for those most vulnerable in our community. I coordinate the legislative outreach for our agency to the members of our State Assembly and the State Senate. I have used my legislative experience to work with our elected representatives to improve the State of California’s service delivery system for those we serve. I have developed strong relationships with both legislators and staff to ensure our clients have the services necessary to meet their desired goals. 

I have lived in the City of San Marcos for 6 years. I love my community and wanted to do more to serve. I was appointed to the City’s Budget Review Committee and served for 3 years. 

I decided to run for City Council because I want to use my experience to be a voice for all our citizens and advocate for those in need. The City of San Marcos is moving in a positive direction and I want to ensure we continue along the same path; however, I want to ensure we preserve our open spaces, trail systems, and parks. I believe we need to move away from the big developer projects that have built homes that many of the people who live and work in our city cannot afford. The homes encroach on our open spaces, overcrowd our schools, and increase already congested traffic in our area. We can do better. I want to work with our community and approve residential projects that are AFFORDABLE! 

I support coordination of services across jurisdictions, engaging with the county and neighboring cities to adopt comprehensive policies and pool resources to deliver services to the homeless,