As your next City Councilmember, I will keep my sleeves rolled up and always be ready to work for you! There are so many needs in Santa Rosa…and as your District 4 representative, I will always put our community first.

 

At the beginning of the summer, I began going door-to-door to engage with downtown businesses – introducing myself while inviting them to complete a survey I prepared to understand how the city can better collaborate with them and support their success. More recently, since I began knocking on the doors of voters at the end of July, I have been sharing both a postcard survey and online survey to allow residents to share their questions, concerns, and hopes for the future of our city.

 

I appreciate all those who’ve taken the time to engage with me, and help me better understand how I can be an effective representative on the City Council. I will always keep an open door to listen to your concerns.

 

Based on community feedback and as I continue to meet with local business owners and residents during the campaign, below are the Top 10 priorities I hope to focus on:

 

THE HIGHLIGHTS:

 

1. Housing affordability

2. Budget sustainability

3. Homelessness

4. Fire prevention and preparedness

5. Streets, sidewalks, and our transportation infrastructure

6. Downtown revitalization

7. Climate change and the environment

8. Chanate Road redevelopment

9. Crime and safety

10. Investing in our youth and our future

 

THE DETAILS:

 

1. Housing affordability.

Building affordable housing is important, but we also need to look at all our options. We need to look at programs our city can offer to first time homebuyers; more robust rental assistance programs for those on the brink of housing insecurity; and programs to help lower-income renters put down first and last month’s rent deposits. Furthermore, housing proposals in the downtown core and other areas already zoned for housing should be prioritized to make those zoning designations a reality by creating the housing we so desperately need. Having a son in college, as I think about his future, I want him to have an opportunity to move back to Santa Rosa. I will be your advocate for housing affordability issues as a member of the City Council.

​

2. Budget sustainability.

As one-time funds dry up and structural budget deficits loom, we must take a holistic look at our city’s budget and determine: what areas of funding need greater focus, and where should we hit the pause button and reset? As I think about the myriad needs of Santa Rosans, there’s no question we need fiscal sustainability. To those ends, I support Measure L to provide the budget sustainability City Hall desperately needs. We also need to staff up in Planning & Building to create more of the housing we need faster, while also taking a deeper dive on homelessness spending to assess what’s working and what isn’t. As we address those critical quality-of-life issues, we can also look at areas of waste to prioritize spending on the areas of greatest need: housing, homelessness, road repairs, and investments that keep our community safe while protecting our incredible natural environment.

 

3. Homelessness.

Homelessness continues to be a critical quality-of-life issue in Santa Rosa, especially our downtown. I’ve heard this loud and clear from the downtown businesses I’ve spoken to. Downtown businesses should not be forced to clean human waste off their entryways just to open their business each and every day, nor should residents in the downtown core and areas like North Street, Chanate Road and other neighborhoods have to deal with RV parking or encampments. As your next City Councilmember, I will encourage Santa Rosa to take a tough yet compassionate stance on homelessness. As a firefighter, I understand compassion…but we need to better balance compassion for those in need of and willing to accept services, with those who reject the calls for help while adding waste, drug paraphernalia and other issues in our public places. While it’s true there are limitations to eradicating homelessness, we need to look at all options to create a safe, clean, and enjoyable environment for everyone.

 

4. Fire prevention and preparedness.

As a fire survivor and 23-year firefighting veteran, I promise to be a fierce advocate for fire prevention and preparedness. When the Tubbs Fire broke out on October 8-9, 2017, one of my first stops was to Fire Station 5 in Fountaingrove, which was destroyed that night, along with my home and the homes of thousands of my fellow neighbors. Communicating with our community during Tubbs showed me the power of community engagement and maintaining an open line of communication during a time of crisis. It also allowed me to see firsthand the shortcomings of emergency alert and warning systems that night. While I commend Sonoma County for taking the lead to streamline their Office of Emergency Services (OES) in the years since 2017 and for the bravery of our first responders who made every effort to protect life and property in those harrowing hours, I know we need a representative who understands these issues firsthand as we move forward and face the next disaster.

 

5. Streets, sidewalks, and our transportation infrastructure.

Roads have been underfunded in recent years, while Pavement Condition Index (PCI) scores are stagnant or in decline. This scoring system, considered the gold standard for road conditions, noted that the majority of Santa Rosa roads are in an “at-risk,” “poor,” or “failed” condition. Between CIP funds and hopefully, with the passage of Measure L, increased revenue to repave our streets and improve our sidewalks, I will prioritize funding for smoother streets and other infrastructure improvements as a member of the City Council. I am also excited about opportunities like the bicycle and pedestrian bridge connecting the SRJC neighborhood to Coddingtown and the Santa Rosa North SMART Train Station over Highway 101, and will look at ways we can secure regional, state, and federal grant funding to fund marquee projects that improve connectivity in Santa Rosa.

 

6. Downtown revitalization.

As a member of the Wednesday Night Market Executive Board and as a small business owner myself for more than 10 years, I regularly visit and appreciate all that downtown Santa Rosa has to offer. Seeing the plight of downtown businesses spurred me to personally visit our downtown businesses recently, and one recurring theme in my discussion with business owners is the need to address homelessness, the need for a more engaged representative on the City Council they can keep an open line of communication with, the need for practical parking fees that don’t hinder business opportunities, and the need to develop new housing. I am committed to being a more proactive, communicative representative for downtown businesses as a member of the City Council.

​

7. Climate change and the environment.

As I watch my son grow into a young adult, I want him to return to Santa Rosa to live, work, and raise a family. Even should he choose to move elsewhere, I know how important it is to take bold leadership on climate change and the environment to protect this special place for future generations. To those ends, I will support efforts that curb greenhouse gases (GHG’s) and protect the natural landscape. To achieve this, we must get even more aggressive on electrification of our city and transit vehicle fleets, incentivize solar arrays on existing buildings, and through public-private partnerships, encourage greater energy efficiency in our most outdated buildings through programs like the Sonoma County Energy Independence Office. With transportation accounting for the largest local source of GHG’s and amidst a time of sky-high gas prices, opportunity in this area is ripe to make a meaningful difference.

 

8. Chanate Road redevelopment.

The Chanate Road redevelopment process has been a point of concern for Chanate-area residents, and I believe we need to carefully consider this property’s future to protect all those living along the Chanate Road corridor. After selling the property to Las Vegas developer Eddie Haddad, local news sources reported a number of rumors for the Chanate property. There have been suggestions from the developer for the prospects of a shopping center, a large number of homes, or even a casino on the former Sutter Hospital campus. This is unacceptable from both an emergency preparedness and neighborhood impact perspective. Chanate Road is one lane in each direction! As I saw during the 2017 wildfires, this road is NOT designed for thousands of additional cars on a daily basis.  Any development proposal needs to be compatible with the surrounding neighborhood, and not jeopardize the ability of neighborhood residents to evacuate during an emergency.

 

9. Crime and safety.

As a 23-year firefighter, I am the only candidate for District 4 who has a public safety background. In fact, if elected, I would be the only first responder on the Santa Rosa City Council. I think it’s so important to have a voice on Council for our first responders, especially as we address the growing realities of wildfires and other natural disasters. My collaboration with first responders has led to both the Santa Rosa Firefighters Association and Santa Rosa Police Officers Association to endorse my candidacy, because they know we deserve a strong voice on public safety issues.

 

10. Investing in our youth and our future.

As a parent (and as any parent can tell you), our youth are our future. Having quality parks, recreational opportunities and other amenities for young families is incredibly important. I’m inspired by community-building events like the Wednesday Night Market and Movie Nights in Howarth Park, and want to continue to support and encourage city staff to build upon these efforts to create a more inclusive, family-friendly community for Santa Rosans. Amidst troubling times nationally, I also want to protect the future of all our residents – regardless of immigration status – by maintaining restrictions to limit federal immigration enforcement and other actions that threaten the safety and security of all our residents.