Candidate for
County Supervisor; County of Sonoma; Supervisorial District 4

I grew up in the Silicon Valley before it was the Silicon Valley - before Highways 280 and 85 existed. I remember open spaces between cities, and lots of fruit trees in the valley.

I spent high school years in Santa Cruz where there was a real sense of community. I received a Masters Degree in Environmental Planning and then went to work for the Governor's Office of Planning and Research in the early 1980's.

I moved to Sonoma County in 1989 to be closer to my Grandmother in Sonoma to help care for her. I bought a 1934-era farmhouse in Windsor in 1990. After Windsor was incorporated, I wanted to put my environmental and city planning skills to use to prevent the sprawl development I saw happen in the Sunnyvale/San Jose area. Sam Salmon appointed me to the Planning Commission in 1994, I ran for council in 1996, and have been working for Windsor since then. I am one of those primarily responsible for the lower growth rate in Windsor, for the establishment of our urban growth boundary, and for the development of our downtown and of our Town Green.

I am an environmental specialist for PG&E, having worked there for 23 years.

I bicycle long distances for fun and exercise, I am in a Masters Swim class, and I am in the process of needlepointing a Christmas stocking for my 5 year nephew (his 8 year old sister received hers two years ago).

People can say that they believe in smart growth and good planning, but it's easy to say, and harder to know how to do it. I know how to do it. You need to fully understand the principles (I continue to learn by attending a nationwide conference each year), and you need to hold firm to your principles when developers come forward with average, sprawl development projects that are not smart growth. I want to continue helping the County to growth in a smart, slow way, and I want to start planning for the future of our county to protect the agricultural lands that we have now. This means we need to start planning 20-50 years out, and stop planning for tomorrow.