Answers to Ford Greene's Pacific Sun Candidate Survey

By Ford Greene

- Conscience: Life has given me an opportunity to win. With such opportunity comes the responsibility to respond to it. To fail to respond would be to throw away or squander such an opportunity. To me, it is a matter of conscience. I feel called to serve my Town.
- There is a sizeable number of San Anselmo residents and business owners who are counting on me to be their voice for change in San Anselmo.
- I believe there is a need in our society for competent people to participate in the public process in order to renew faith in the viability of our democracy.
- My desire to serve is also shaped by my own experience with local government as a property owner, and with respect to free speech issues and police misconduct (with police trespassing onto my property without notice with a cherry picker and tearing down the sign).
- My native common sense will serve this Town well, I have lived here for 24 years and my family has been in the Ross Valley for 5 generations.
- I bring commitment, passion, friendliness and humor

Why will I be effective?

I am not divisive, but able to penetrate to the core of conflict, seek common points of interest and harmonize what on the outside appears to be conflicting forces.

I am a new voice, supported by many people in Town. I am honest, earnest, trustworthy, committed, and a straight shooter.

I came within 300 votes in 2005 without running a campaign. Ian Roth quit the council to take a job in Fairfax, and San Anselmo saw the appointment of Judy House, who had not even run in the 2005 Town Council election. I am now back for a second try, and this time, I am raising money, securing endorsements, talking with voters at their doors, and running a real grassroots campaign.

2. What are San Anselmo's three most important issues?

- The split between the citizens of the Town and its leaders/administrators. Citizens perceive that the Town leadership has its own interests at heart rather than the interests of the Town. There is a distrust of current leadership which, in conjunction with the general isolation of council members who originally were not elected but appointed, contributes to a loss of the feedback between the governed and the governing which is the lifeblood of an effectively functioning democracy. I think this lack of feedback contributes to a general loss of vibrancy bemoaned by many longtime residents and business owners.

- The conflict between the generation of sufficient revenue to maintain and develop quality of life (roads, landscaping, holiday decorations, etc.) and the demand on that revenue generated by employee pension payment requirements. Measure B failed because the citizens perceived that they were primarily being looked at as the funding source for the retirement pensions of town employees (as a cash cow), rather than paying money into something that would benefit their future and the future of the Town. This conflict also contributes to the split between the governed and the governing because the governed perceive that the Town administration is acting in its benefit rather than theirs.

- Catastrophic survival challenges

• Flood
• Mudslide
• Fire
• Earthquake
• Infrastructure breakdown shutting down the delivery of electricity, food and water.

- Try to be honest and direct about the competing values and develop solutions that harmonize preexisting conflicts. Liaise with the local business community and solicit their ideas about events and changes that would call attention to what businesses have to offer.

- Examine the budget, particularly with respect to the police force that is comprised of 30 employees with a top administration of 8, with an eye toward evaluating whether we really need so many police persons to maintain San Anselmo's safety.

- Examine budget needs. Assuming more revenue is needed, be very accountable about those needs and what the money would be spent on and then campaign to get an appropriate tax measure passed. Like Fairfax did.

- As to flooding, in the near term I would advocate that all buildings in the flood plain be equipped with floodgates. In addition, I would advocate change in San Anselmo's laws regarding building, variances and permits so as to no longer require that driveways be covered with asphalt or concrete. It makes no sense to give lip service to flood mitigation while enforcing ordinances that contribute to it. What is more important: no mud on the streets from wet dirt driveways or mud in the buildings from a creek that has breached its boundaries?

- As to mudslides, like earthquakes, I would advocate for coordinated neighborhood response teams so that there would be in place a minimum of self-reliant responsiveness in the event that sudden infrastructure breakdown would preclude out of town emergency response people from getting to San Anselmo.

- Identify alternative potential sources of aid (such as water sources, local doctors and paramedics, contractors) and organize them on a neighborhood basis so that if and when a disaster was to strike, we would not respond from a completely disorganized position. Implement a fallback communication network so that responsive logistics could be available. Work with Marin Master Gardeners to develop and support community vegetable gardens.

3. What is my view of the current Town Council?

With the exception of Ted Freeman, all started out as appointees and thus never really developed relationships with the people in our community, and thus have tended toward isolation.

They seem to be insulated from a substantial portion of the community, almost under siege at times. I understand from San Anselmans that they are often quite defensive at meetings and sometimes mean to residents wanting to participate in Town affairs.

How would I act differently?

I would be open and respectful to constituent input, honest and direct, and always looking for ways to help and bring people together. I would also be willing to give direct, hard answers to tough questions.

4a. Is global warming a reality?

The reality of catastrophic climate change is now most visible on the north and south poles where the melting of the ice is occurring with exponential rapidity. Not only will the bay level rise here in Marin, but also our weather will be affected in ways we do not yet know. The fog could disappear. We will probably get hit with prolonged droughts interspersed with torrential rain. What we can count on is that nature will kick our hindquarters.

4b. What local measures would I support or have I supported to address climate change and to promote sustainable planning/building policies?

Global warming consequences throw us back to the essential values of survival: shelter, water and food. Provided that a major earthquake does not coincide with drought and/or famine, we have lots of shelter. We have a fantastic water system with MMWD, however, our building policies are pushing it beyond our capacity to sustain. We need to reduce our footprint and consequent increased demands on the environment when we engage in thoughtless development. We have to reverse our direction and become smaller. We have to stop tumbling willy-nilly into the future by engaging in development as if there is no consequence in so doing. As to building practices, I would advocate breaks in fees and building strictures for those who build in self-reliant features such as solar power, flood gates and dedication of space to community vegetable gardens.

4c. Do you disagree with any of the Ahwahnee Principles?

I agree with all of the principles, but particularly with Implementation Principle 2, which emphasizes that local government should take the lead in development in the planning process rather than continue to allow developer-initiated, piecemeal development. In San Anselmo, we have paid the price in terms of flooding by not adhering to this principle inasmuch as a huge portion of the community has been built within the flood plain apparently with no thought directed to flooding consequences. Additionally, in terms of our water supply, we should be implementing development that falls within the means we have to support its water needs rather than looking to increasing the already taxed water supply. My opinion is that we should plan for the worst-case scenarios we can imagine. If we can become half ready for that, we will be in a much better position than being blind and struck unexpectedly.

5a. Did you support or oppose SMART?

I opposed SMART. I do not have any problem with the idea of transportation by train, yet when substantial building out and further building development are included as components of rail transportation, it is a poison pill embedded in what otherwise would be a good idea.

5b. What actions would you support to address Marin's traffic problems in general and the specifically the congestion around the transit center/freeway entrance areas at 3rd and Hetherton?

Marin's increasing traffic nightmare directly flows from its building policies. We need a smaller footprint, not a larger one. That means limiting development. As to the Sir Francis Drake corridor, we are dealing with the consequences of regional development. Because 101 is so congested, many people are using the "back way" from Sonoma County to avoid it. This increases the impact on SFD. To the extent possible, we need to encourage and make it easier for people to ride bikes and take public transportation. Given Marin's high level of affluence, however, it will be difficult to get people out of cars and onto alternative transportation modes.

6a. I opposed the recent storm drainage fee not because I am against flood mitigation, but because the goal of flood mitigation did not justify playing fast and loose with the democratic process. Our biggest resource and treasure is our democratic system, which allows us to work together in a civilized way. No goal, however laudable, is so important that its end justifies the means of subverting democracy to accomplish it.

6b. The Town could have done better by implementing flood mitigation changes that are within its power now. As stated above, it has been within the Town's power for almost two years to harmonize its rules requiring the paving of driveways and parking areas with the goal of decreasing water runoff as a flood mitigation technique. Additionally, the Town could have enacted legislation directed at the construction of flood gates for all flood plain located buildings and waive or minimize the cost of any building permits required to do so. It makes no sense to wait for a larger agency to implement flood mitigation measures when there are things within our power that we can do for ourselves in the meantime.

7a-c. I would support another parcel tax measure IF it were directed toward providing solutions to the needs of the community rather than being dedicated solely to increasing the salaries of department heads. Recently, I have spoken with lower level San Anselmo employees. Their loyalty to San Anselmo is impressive and their despair with being not dealt with honestly by the San Anselmo administration heart wrenching. Their perception is that the administration used the 2006 flood as an excuse to cry poor mouth and lay off a number of lower positions after which administration heads + with council approval + gave themselves substantial raises. Such conduct does not seem straightforward and contributes to resentment, withdrawal and distrust. We have many tough decisions which demand that leaders be straight with all persons about what the choices are and what the choices contemplated are likely to be. Candor has the effect of generating trust rather than fostering distrust, even when people are going to get hurt. Thus, if the process of implementing another effort at another tax increase is to take place and was approached by being straight about what the community needs, and how the money generated thereby would be spent, I would support the effort. Fairfax was faced with a similar situation. The first time the increased tax was presented to the voters, they rejected it. The second time, Fairfax identified the community's needs and community leaders engaged in a grassroots campaign to generate support. They were successful. They were successful, at least in part, because that community trusted what its leaders were telling them.

7d. What are my top budget priorities? It is difficult for me to provide a comprehensive response to this question without having an intimate and thorough knowledge of the manner in which San Anselmo spends its money, which at this point I do not have. At the top of my list would be an examination of the amount of money that goes to the police department. This is difficult for me because I know and like a number of the police force officers. While police protection certainly is a central component within our community, I question whether we need to spend as much as we are on that particular service. I would like to direct more resources to maintaining and developing San Anselmo's beauty. If you look around the edges, San Anselmo appears to be fraying. There is garbage that accumulates and landscaping that suffers. All of this contributes to a bad impression from non-Town people who come to shop.

8a. What does the Town need to do maintain a vibrant, viable downtown? This is one of the main issues of my campaign. The San Anselmo downtown area, nestled in the Ross Valley with its views of Mt. Tam and Bald Hill, is central to San Anselmo, but is not its only business district. Businesses, both downtown and in Red Hill, complain about a lack of cooperation from the Town administration. For example, Red Hill wanted to change the color its businesses were painted. But it took close to a year to obtain permission to do so. This is not reasonable. Other businesses downtown have wanted to place sandwich signs on the sidewalks in order to bring people into shops; this was restricted. The perception from many of the merchants is that the Town administration and council is hostile to their interests. This contributes to a siege mentality on both sides that does not translate into the type of openness and creativity that attracts people.

Over the past two years, the San Anselmo Downtown Merchants Association has sponsored a number of events (San Anselmo Springs Back, Put the Heart Back in San Anselmo, Hot August Night) that have been well-attended and very successful. One of the things that has struck me in particular is that our Town is rich in a diversity and depth of human resources. We have many extraordinary artists, musicians, philanthropists, anthropologists and specialty professional people. They support our Town, but largely do not have any venue for expressing their support. One of my goals would be to lead an effort to further develop civic imagination to develop venues for not only bringing such people together, but also bringing in people from outside the community to appreciate them.

Currently, Peter Penhallow's "Beatles Night" and Tom Boss's "Movies in the Park" are additional examples of this.

Finally, there is the issue of parking meters. They currently are calibrated at 2 hours. For someone who has an appointment for personal treatment, such as massage or pedicure, who then wants to have lunch and then do some shopping, this is not enough time. Perhaps it is a little thing, but little things can have a big impact. I would increase the limit of the meters to 4 hours.

8b. What needs to be done to assure that town residents have safe, peaceful residential neighborhoods? We have that now. I am not so sure that we need a police department of 30 people to keep a town of 12,500 safe. There is also a perception that community leaders have expressed to me of insecurity with respect to the police. I would urge that police get out of their cars, perhaps like San Rafael, get on bicycles, and at least walk around so that people can get to know them. I think that getting police officers into clothes a little less "official" (while maintaining their weapons and communications capacity) would help decrease the intimidation factor and increase the community police integration.

9. I have a wide array of heroes. To a degree, I have been blessed to grow up being exposed to politics.

My Godfather is James Lane Buckley, a Republican, who formerly held the Senate seat in New York presently held by Hillary Clinton. In my early 20s, in January 1975, when I was asked to address a Senate Subcommittee hearing on cults that Robert Dole and Uncle Jim sponsored, I had the benefit of staying with him and his wife for close to a week. I was tremendously impressed by his calm, deliberative and highly reasoned approach to every topic he considered. That has always stayed with me as a desired way of being.

On the other end of the spectrum, Frank Zappa is another one of my heroes. Zappa's qualities of incisiveness, unrestrained social criticism and command of language has provided a high standard to which I have always aspired.

Another central hero is Martin Luther King (he is post 1970 because his values are timeless). He is my hero because he placed more value on his commitment to telling the truth than on his own life and, indeed, paid the ultimate price for that commitment. This is a very high form of love, which I think should be at the base of every political commitment. In my opinion, Barbara Lee's standing up against the decision to attack Iraq is another manifestation of such love and courage.

My array of heroes shares the qualities of intelligence, reason, love, courage and the willingness to sacrifice self for the truth.

10. My vision for San Anselmo's future is a Town that is greatly self-reliant. This means that many of its houses would be solar powered and it would have substantial community gardens able to produce food to feed people in times of catastrophe and/or infrastructure breakdown. It's people would be engaged in local government and community activities that celebrate its deep diversity and excellence.