ISSUES & PRIORITIES

Accessible Housing

Availability of housing is the #1 priority of this campaign, as the single issue that the County largely controls and affects the greatest number of people. Everyone in our County faces rising general price inflation, and housing costs increasingly pose a major burden for residents and families. If we do not confront this issue head-on today and make the changes that are needed to streamline the system, we and future generations will all continue to pay the price.

Whether new residential construction, accessory dwelling units (ADU), suburban developments or tiny homes -- the process by which the County reviews and approves permit applications is broken. Not a single contractor in the State will say that they have had an easy time building in our County, unless it is a project that was unpermitted and otherwise overlooked by staff in their selective enforcement. That is the critical issue underlying our housing afforability crisis, and we need leadership that is willing to address it.

Our current leadership is heavy on words of support, and light as a feather in terms of concrete action to make the necessary changes. It is easy to point out a problem, but devising and implementing solutions requires a great deal of intelligence, vision, and courage. The entrenched structures of our current county departments will not willfully change themselves -- we need a Board of Supervisors that will create the needed momentum and reorganize the department structure as needed to ensure it is functional, and accountable.

Wildfire Resilience

Resilience of our communities to wildfire risk is the second highest priority of this campaign, as something that the County has limited control over but still poses an existential threat to many of our neighborhoods in the rural parts of the County. Our system of fire districts has achieved many great achievements and performed admirably considering the inaction and negligence at the State and federal government levels, but there are still many improvements that can be made to consolidate and reinforce our defenses against wildfire.

The viability and sustainability of our district fire departments rely upon a patchwork system of property tax allocations which vary widely from district to district, and as a result we have some firefighter teams which are well funded and equipped, and others which are operating at a perpetual deficit. Luckily we have a great number of volunteer firefighters and community activists in our Fire Safe Councils (FSC) which have helped bridge the gap and bring forward critical measures to protect and our homes and families.

As Supervisor I will lead a comprehensive review of our fire districts and the existing structure for their respective budgets and financial planning. We will work in conjunction with our community oversight organizations to craft a ballot initiative to reform and consolidate our fire districts, so that firefighting and preventive measures can better be coordinated at a central level, while retaining local agency for our battalion chiefs. All of our districts and communities need to work together to successfully prevent and fight the next wildfire.

Community Planning

Growth is inevitable, we can either do it thoughtfully with active engagement with the community, or we can lay down and let developers have their way. We need a thorough review of the entire planning apparatus, to ensure that it aligns with our current priorities and delivers what local residents actually want.

Rather than simply react to the latest mega-project and offer words of support or condolence to whichever party is aggrieved by County decisions, our leadership should offer and require public venues to proactively address local concerns and ensure that development applications are created with them in mind.

As Supervisor I will do exactly that, and ensure that large property developers bring forward projects which will be well-received by the majority of the community, and thus can be approved without causing an uproar of protest. I will direct staff and work with them to review the general plan and matrix of uses, to ensure that our roadmap into the future makes sense, and benefits the people who already live here as well as those yet to come.

Economic Growth

Our country became the most prosperous in the world by facilitating commerce and cooperation among people, combining the forces of labor and capital, to build the world that we inhabit today. Our State has forgotten this principle in many regards and now excessively burdens the people with fees, fines, and regulations that inhibit our future growth.

While there is only so much that can be done at the County level in the face of federal and State government overreach, we still ought to take advantage of all opportunities available. Our County should only apply new regulations when a tangible and distinct benefit outweighs the associated costs, and actively work to reduce existing regulatory burdens that do not meet this threshold. Where appropriate, we should pursue grants to improve our communities, and reduce the net expense borne by our residents to improve our capital infrastructure.

As Supervisor I will be an advocate for free enterprise, tempered by a smart planning and building system, so that we can recognize the full economic and social benefits of our residents' unleashed innovative spirit. I will help make businesses in our County as competitive as possible, and lower the barrier of entry for residents to conduct their trades.