We have many important issues in town. Let me explain my views on the most important (in no particular order)

Homelessness~  I want to start by telling a personal story. I took in a homeless woman and her child for over two years giving her two rooms in my rented four bedroom and buying her groceries and diapers. I have compassion.

Her needs became too much but also, I was moving to Fairfax and didn’t need four bedrooms anymore. I offered her all sorts of assistances which she declined. When the landlord did an inspection in anticipation of selling the house she bolted from the home and I had no idea where she went. 

It turns out she eventually moved into the encampment in our park. Yes, she was the one with the child. He was safe in my home and now has been taken by CPS and is thriving in a foster home with visits from his maternal grandmother and some supervised visits from the father. Did I ask CPS to come to my home and take the child? Many times to no avail.

I urged our supervisors to enact Senate Bill 43 which is now State Law but must be approved county by county. They did approve that bill which makes it easier to require mental health care for those who can’t take care of themselves.

I support SB 43. SB 43: Updating California’s Conservatorship Law | Institute for Health Policy Leadership (llu.edu)

Lert’s be clear, there are several reasons people become homeless, untreated mental illness, drug use and the saddest, those who lost a job and lost a place to live due to their economic situation. We need to have different approaches for different situations.

I want our children to be safe. I want our public parks safe. We can’t have an encampment in our parks. So I support compassionate but firm care of those who are homeless. That doesn’t mean we can let them do whatever they want, wherever they want. If elected and if two other challengers such as Mike and Frank are elected, we’ll close that camp in our park. Period.

We will offer services, we will endeavor to get them temporary housing in hopes of a transition  to permanent housing, maybe we’ll place a supported camp, I will work with the other Councilors and with the County. I took a tour of Homeward Bound recently and there are options, but people must accept some basic social rules to help themselves. Some folks have no interest in being part of a decent society and those people will have to hit rock bottom before they want to change.

Rent Control~ The State of California has a strong rent control law on the books., The one passed by the current Town Council will result in less Mom and Pop landlords. This type of rent control has been proven over and over to reduce not enhance the number of units on the market. I strongly support Measure I.

I have spoken to local landlords, and they are very concerned that they will have to sell their rental property, if not now, in the near future.

As mentioned above I am a renter and have been for the last 15 years.

The Road Bond~ Nope! Not now. 

We may need a road bond but not when the Council plays whack a mole with our current road taxes. There is money to repair our roads and it’s not being appropriately applied. Maybe we can’t pay as we go but we need to pay for road repair with road repair money. 

As a Director of the Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers (formerly referred to as CO$T) I supported the Larkspur and the San Anselmo Road Tax Measures, but the Town Councils were respectful and responsible and spend all they could on roads. Different Town Council, different time, different result.

I do think we’ll need a bond measure but now borrowing $18 Million and then repaying $40 million isn’t a great deal. I’ve been on the Ross Valley Sanitary District and in my ten years we’ve raised our Credit rating three times and placed Bond measure out with vert low interest rates. I have done this before and will serve Fairfax if elected.

The Town Clerk, elected or appointed? I am not so strong either way. I will follow the votes of the citizens. Having said that I’ve never had an elected Clerk on any board I’ve served on and I’ve served on a lot. The elected Town Clerk had zero pay, zero required qualification and zero authority. I must say I just don’t “get it”.

If the appointed Town Clerk is not responding to the local press, the local residents, and not explaining what the rules are for such things as “recall elections” that isn’t an issue related to the Town Clerk. The issue is the Town Clerks supervisors.

The Town Council supervises the person in charge of the Town Clerk. They may be the problem. Get me?

High Rises in Hippy Dippy Fairfax~ As the Marin IJ noted a few years back Pat Eklund and I were leaders in the fight against ABAG and their desire to destroy our suburbs. When MTC (who funded ABAG) saw that Pat and I were successful in charting a new course they essentially took over ABAG and now they are completely out of control. 

I will work with like-minded City and Town Councilors to oppose the heavy hand of MTC and  other State agencies and our communities need to rethink who we support for State Assemble and State Senate. We need Members of the Assembly and State Senate that will support local zoning!

A Seven story apartment in Fairfax will permanently ruin our town and that has always been the plan of those who advance this, not just California but across the US. 

Please watch my debate with an Executive od HUD who said in our debate that she was “unaware” the HUD wanted to end 100% of local zoning so that we would not have suburbs anymore. I cited the facts that this is HUD policy.

Here is that video;

HUD's AFFH rule comes to Marin County (youtube.com)

How to talk to residents: I have always been respectful of the public and it’s OK if people want to criticize me or my work. I don’t think we should allow our employees to be insulted but there is room for a different point of view on policy. 

The public should be asked to speak respectfully but they are entitled to their views on any issue and by law and common sense they are entitled to criticize their elected officials. I’m fine with that.