By Nadia V. Holober

The 1990's that greeted my family to Millbrae were prosperous times. I look back very fondly to 1998, when I had the honor as Chair of Millbrae's 50th Anniversary to work with so many wonderful Millbrae residents to put on a year-long celebration of civic events that included residents of all ages and ethnicies.. We so much money in private donations and financeTalking one-on-one with the residents of Millbrae has always been central for me as I prioritize my work for our City and determine how I will vote on the issues facing the City Council. residents want our City to return to a balanced budget without depleting our hard-earned reserves and this is my top goal for the City.
Millbrae has made a series of expenditure reductions beginning after the horrors of 9/11 2001 speared our souls and then devastated our economy. Moving forward, the challenge will be instituting further cuts while maintaining the City services that we Millbrae residents need and want. Millbrae is and must remain a safe City. The City faced a deficit when I assumed the office of Mayor in 2003, and I am proud to say that the City's Budget was balanced by the end of my Mayoral term. I hope to bring to the Council my experience in resolving difficult budget situations through working with all affected parties---residents, decision-makers and City staff. With the recent implementation of term limits, our City has a very new Council now. I look forward to bringing to our City from my experience in this challenging yet exciting time.
A related top priority for our City must be continued adoption of new environmental sustainability measures. During my term as Mayor, the City approved the City's grease recycling facility, which diverts waste by recycling restaurant grease into energy. Beyond the obvious environmental benefit of the facility, the facility saves the City money. As the representative of San Mateo County cities to the California League of Cities Environmental Quality Policy Committee, I worked to approve climate protection measures to be adopted by all California cities, and proudly brought these proposals back to Millbrae for adoption by our City Council. I am proud of that the Millbrae City Council showed leadership in adopting these proposals during my tenure in office and also went on to adopt an array of additional environmentally-friendly practices.