I love Ventura.  It’s an amazing place to live work and play.  With the mountains on the one side and the ocean on the other there is never a lack of activities to keep one occupied.  Our proximity to Los Angeles make it easy to enjoy the culture of that town without having to live there.  Our unique geography makes it so that we enjoy the nicest weather in all of California.   I’m running because I care deeply about the health of our community. I have a five year old son and an eight year old daughter who will grow up in Ventura, and I want it to be the best place it can be. I am especially concerned with lowering crime, improving our local economy, and enhancing the quality of life here in Ventura.

A teacher friend of mine told me that when classrooms are neat and tidy and well cared for then the students simply do better. That will work for our city too.  I will be sure that our streets are paved well, the graffiti is removed quickly, the potholes are fixed, the trees are trimmed, the sewers work, All the core services that we all pay for and expect will be my focus to ensure they are delivered.

Why am I a good fit for City Council?

In my current Senior IT Specialist position at FedEx I meet with a variety of diverse groups. Those groups have equally diverse goals. I’m quite practiced at working with all to achieve the best resolution that can be worked out. My role on the City Council will be no different. Also at my job I have two roles. The first is providing tech support to customers who are implementing a highly technical system of shipping hardware and software. I frequently translate the difficult technical terms used by the developers  into plain language that customers can understand. The other part of my job is to represent the needs and desires of customers to the developers, who can then create a better product. I can translate customer requirements and advocate for improvements in ways that customers cannot.

I see many correlations between my current job and the duties required of a Ventura City Council member. The interactions between the administration of Ventura and the citizens of Ventura require clear language and an even clearer view of solutions that will improve both the livability and economic vitality of our City. I’ve been a “go between” for 12 years and will use those skills to help create a better “product” – an even greater city where everyone has the opportunity to flourish. My customer service skills are exemplary and I will bring those to my role as City Council as every resident of the City of Ventura will be “my customer”.

What are my Qulifications?

My other qualifications include a Bachelor’s Degree from UCSB in Environmental Studies and am currently a Small Business Owner. Previously, I have served as a National Park Service Ranger, Humane Society of the United States Volunteer, Boat Captain for Island Packers, and National Park Service Naturalist. I enjoy helping people understand complex processes and procedures. I can bring that to this role.

It’s time for some fresh perspectives and new ideas. A teacher friend of mine told me that when classrooms are neat and school grounds are well maintained, students do better, regardless of the teacher or the curriculum. If kids feel that their environment is cared for, THEY feel cared for and valuable – and perform better. That makes sense for our city too. I want to be sure that the streets are paved, the graffiti is removed, we effectively fight crime, the sewers work, the water is clean, the citizens get the services they expect and pay for. That is all within our means if we pay for things that make sense. If we show that we care about our town then our citizens and visitors will care more too. I have two small children who will grow up in this town. I want Ventura to be the best it can possibly be for them and for other kids who will grow up here as well.

“Reported Part 1 Property Crime in 2012 for the City of Ventura increased by 574 additional crimes, or 17%, when compared to 2011. Most notable was a 45% increase in Auto Thefts from 195 incidents reported in 2011 compared to 282 in 2012. Residential Burglaries rose 21% with nearly 500 incidents occurring in 2012. Non-Residential Burglaries increased by 14% totaling 284 compared to 249 in 2011. There were 2,825 Larceny/Thefts reported, including thefts from locked and unlocked vehicles. This represents an increase of 14% more than in 2011. Lastly, a total of 14 Arsons were reported in 2012, compared to the 5 reported Arsons in 2011.”

Violent crimes decreased by 5%, which is good, but is the huge increase of other types of crimes the price we pay? That does not make sense. Several houses in my neighborhood have been burglarized. One friend came home in the afternoon to find a man inside her house.  He ran off and got away.  I have had two bicycles stolen from my porch. The city posted a flashing sign on a trailer warning people to report suspicious activity. that seems like a weak solution. I want my role in the city council to have a direct effect upon lowering those numbers. I have some ideas that may help.  I know that the City of Oakland was given a federal grant of 10 million dollars that they used to fund the placement of security cameras in key locations around the town.  This gives police a way to review events captured by an unbiased witness.  The city of Ventura recently used grant money to link up the security camera system at a local high school so that they can review footage when needed for the same reason.  I would explore the request for more grant money to fund similar installations.  I don’t want this to replace any officers.  I feel that we need more officers patrolling as well.  But I do feel this is an excellent way to supplement the tools they have available to keep us all safe. As a former Federal Law enforcement agent I want to send a message to criminals that Ventura is no place to for any illegal activities.

One huge factor that limits our ability to grow as a community is our water resources. I intend to implement programs that will save water. The number one use of water in a residential setting is for landscaping. People love their green lawns, lush bushes and beautiful trees. I would offer incentives for residents to implement gray water recapture hardware in their homes. The water from their washing machines, dishwashers, and sinks can easily be captured and diverted to use for their greenery. That saves them money and saves the city water. It’s all about conserving what we have.

I pulled this from the City’s 2013 Comprehensive Water Report.

Based on the City’s current available water supply of 19,600 AFY, the City can meet the demands of the existing and approved development projects (18,643 AFY). However, at any time the available water supply could drop to an annual average of 18,000 AFY. In the circumstances where the water supply drops to the low end of the range, the supply is slightly (1%-2%) larger than the demand through year 2016, after which the water supply is less than the anticipated demand beginning in year 2017.

I added that to show you just how tight things are right now.

Our Ocean

Untreated storm water runoff is a big concern for me. All summer long we drive around our town. When the rains come, everything that has collected on the roads and storm drains washes straight into our marine environment. The pollutants included everything from motor oil, to transmission fluid, to asbestos from car brakes to rubber from our tires and a lot more. Tons of litter including fast food wrappers, cigarette butts, plastic and trash end up in our water. Has anyone NOT seen a picture of a bird or a whale or a sea lion wrapped up in a piece of trash and slowly being strangled or cut into pieces? There are many pollutants that come from agricultural activities too. Those include a wide variety of herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers. We depend upon our oceans. Did you know that we can’t eat any marine creatures that are considered filter feeders (e.g. mussels clams etc.) in the winter months because of runoff?  After all, we are an ocean side community. It’s easy to forget that at times. If our ocean is not healthy then our community cannot be truly healthy either. We can do better to protect the ocean than we have been doing. I intend to work on that.