Miller Avenue
Improvements to Miller, if done right, will provide the missing link
that joins traffic relief with a blueprint for a beautiful, pedestrian-
scaled neighborhood with places to live, neighborhood shops, a
bakery, cafes, services and our current merchants. A good plan,
over its 20-30 year span, would help give the community what it
wants rather than the interest-driven plan of a developer, however
hodgepodge and unconnected to our vision.
Traffic and Transit
As a community, we need to integrate transportation solutions into
our planning – for Miller Avenue, for downtown, for Sycamore
and for the hills. A shuttle for the Miller/East Blithedale/Camino
Alto loop can reduce in town traffic, especially at peak time such
as school drop-off and pick-up times. Small jitneys can bring
commuters and shoppers down from the hills. Continuing
improvements in our Steps, Lanes and Paths will both reduce
traffic and improve our emergency preparedness. Bike lanes,
separated from traffic where feasible, are an essential component
of a comprehensive traffic plan.
Sycamore Cut-Through
Sycamore is a residential area with many children, narrow streets
and many parked cars. Traffic cutting through between East
Blithedale and Miller is both a hazard and a burden to the
community. Improvements in transit options and reductions in
traffic flow will help remove one of the primary reasons for cut
throughs. Other solutions (such as speed bumps, or a no left turn
sign on E. Blithedale) all involve trade-offs which require
community input.
Watershed Protection
As a Planning Commissioner, I have worked hard to protect our
creeks and streams from habitat-damaging development. I have
also worked to guide hillside remodels and new construction to
reduce hardscape and other runoff-increasing practices. A major
cause of flooding along Arroyo Corte Madera Del Presidio Creek
is increased runoff.
Open Government
Government, at all levels, exists to serve its community. The Mill
Valley City Council and City staff are no different. Our community
must be well-informed with ready access to all the information
needed to participate fully in the process of governing our City.
For example, the City of Mill Valley website should have all
significant documents, including planning documents, minutes of
City Council and City Commission meetings, notices of upcoming
meetings, etc., posted in a timely fashion. In addition, I support
webcasting City Council meetings so that citizens can stay
informed even when they are unable to attend Council meetings in
person.
I also firmly believe that all interested citizens should have a fair
and equal opportunity to be heard on issues before the City
Council. I have spent 14 years working for Southern Marin
Supervisors Charles McGlashan and Annette Rose working with
members of our community, providing information and helping find
solutions to issues. I will bring that commitment to service to our
community to our City Council.
Improvements to Miller, if done right, will provide the missing link
that joins traffic relief with a blueprint for a beautiful, pedestrian-
scaled neighborhood with places to live, neighborhood shops, a
bakery, cafes, services and our current merchants. A good plan,
over its 20-30 year span, would help give the community what it
wants rather than the interest-driven plan of a developer, however
hodgepodge and unconnected to our vision.
Traffic and Transit
As a community, we need to integrate transportation solutions into
our planning – for Miller Avenue, for downtown, for Sycamore
and for the hills. A shuttle for the Miller/East Blithedale/Camino
Alto loop can reduce in town traffic, especially at peak time such
as school drop-off and pick-up times. Small jitneys can bring
commuters and shoppers down from the hills. Continuing
improvements in our Steps, Lanes and Paths will both reduce
traffic and improve our emergency preparedness. Bike lanes,
separated from traffic where feasible, are an essential component
of a comprehensive traffic plan.
Sycamore Cut-Through
Sycamore is a residential area with many children, narrow streets
and many parked cars. Traffic cutting through between East
Blithedale and Miller is both a hazard and a burden to the
community. Improvements in transit options and reductions in
traffic flow will help remove one of the primary reasons for cut
throughs. Other solutions (such as speed bumps, or a no left turn
sign on E. Blithedale) all involve trade-offs which require
community input.
Watershed Protection
As a Planning Commissioner, I have worked hard to protect our
creeks and streams from habitat-damaging development. I have
also worked to guide hillside remodels and new construction to
reduce hardscape and other runoff-increasing practices. A major
cause of flooding along Arroyo Corte Madera Del Presidio Creek
is increased runoff.
Open Government
Government, at all levels, exists to serve its community. The Mill
Valley City Council and City staff are no different. Our community
must be well-informed with ready access to all the information
needed to participate fully in the process of governing our City.
For example, the City of Mill Valley website should have all
significant documents, including planning documents, minutes of
City Council and City Commission meetings, notices of upcoming
meetings, etc., posted in a timely fashion. In addition, I support
webcasting City Council meetings so that citizens can stay
informed even when they are unable to attend Council meetings in
person.
I also firmly believe that all interested citizens should have a fair
and equal opportunity to be heard on issues before the City
Council. I have spent 14 years working for Southern Marin
Supervisors Charles McGlashan and Annette Rose working with
members of our community, providing information and helping find
solutions to issues. I will bring that commitment to service to our
community to our City Council.
Affordable Housing
Support For Local Serving Business
Water Supply and Conservation
Ecological Footprint
Cities for Climate Protection Campaign
Community Choice Aggregation (CCA)
Budget Priorities for the City of Mill Valley
Support For Local Serving Business
Water Supply and Conservation
Ecological Footprint
Cities for Climate Protection Campaign
Community Choice Aggregation (CCA)
Budget Priorities for the City of Mill Valley
NO "Conflict of Interest"
Some people have suggested that there is a "conflict of interest"
for an Aide to a County Supervisor to also be elected as a City
Council Member. As part of my due diligence, I sought opinions
from both County Counsel and the Fair Political Practices
Commission. Both advised here that there is no conflict. Read
the email and opinion letter from the FPPC here. The opinion
letter is from a 1995 election race by a Solano County
Supervisor's Aide for a seat on the Fairfield City Council. The
FPPC stated:
QUESTION
Do you have a conflict of interest based on your position as
an administrative assistant to a member of the Solano County
Board of Supervisors and your current status as a candidate for
the Fairfield City Council?
CONCLUSION
Neither your salary from nor employment with the Solano
County Board of Supervisors will create an economic interest in
the County which could result in a conflict of interest under the
Act.
The FPPC email confirms that opinion applies to me. There is
no "conflict of interest."
Nor is there a "divided loyalty." If elected to the City Council,
my sole priority will be to do my utmost to serve the citizens of
Mill Valley and help make Mill Valley an even better place to
live, now and in the future. This is exactly what I have done on
the Planning Commission for the past 4 years and in my capacity
as a member of the Board of Trustees of Marin Primary and
Middle School.
The concept of "divided loyalty" some letter writers have
asserted surely is not one applicable only to public service. In
the view of some, a business owner might face a choice
between a vote that favors his business rather than the City. The
same can be imagined for a home owner or renter. That does
not disqualify them from service on our City Council.
At last one letter writer has suggested that Supervisor
McGlashan would improperly, unethically and illegally threaten
my job if I did not vote as he directed. It is indeed sad that we
have come to this level of unjust personal attack in our local
elections. The politics of fear and division should have no place
in our community's choice of a City Council.
Some people have suggested that there is a "conflict of interest"
for an Aide to a County Supervisor to also be elected as a City
Council Member. As part of my due diligence, I sought opinions
from both County Counsel and the Fair Political Practices
Commission. Both advised here that there is no conflict. Read
the email and opinion letter from the FPPC here. The opinion
letter is from a 1995 election race by a Solano County
Supervisor's Aide for a seat on the Fairfield City Council. The
FPPC stated:
QUESTION
Do you have a conflict of interest based on your position as
an administrative assistant to a member of the Solano County
Board of Supervisors and your current status as a candidate for
the Fairfield City Council?
CONCLUSION
Neither your salary from nor employment with the Solano
County Board of Supervisors will create an economic interest in
the County which could result in a conflict of interest under the
Act.
The FPPC email confirms that opinion applies to me. There is
no "conflict of interest."
Nor is there a "divided loyalty." If elected to the City Council,
my sole priority will be to do my utmost to serve the citizens of
Mill Valley and help make Mill Valley an even better place to
live, now and in the future. This is exactly what I have done on
the Planning Commission for the past 4 years and in my capacity
as a member of the Board of Trustees of Marin Primary and
Middle School.
The concept of "divided loyalty" some letter writers have
asserted surely is not one applicable only to public service. In
the view of some, a business owner might face a choice
between a vote that favors his business rather than the City. The
same can be imagined for a home owner or renter. That does
not disqualify them from service on our City Council.
At last one letter writer has suggested that Supervisor
McGlashan would improperly, unethically and illegally threaten
my job if I did not vote as he directed. It is indeed sad that we
have come to this level of unjust personal attack in our local
elections. The politics of fear and division should have no place
in our community's choice of a City Council.