Why did I decide to run for Saratoga City Council?

My answer to this question is very simple. When I saw that three of the current Council Members would not be returning, I became concerned about the practical experience City Leadership will be losing.

Given my time in local government, I have first-hand knowledge about the critical importance of the leadership experiences we need and that residents deserve. There will always be turnover in a Council, but it works because you have experience that remains on the Council. I don’t think two remaining Council Members is enough experience. That is why I decided to offer my experience to Saratoga.

Just because I have been in a Council role before does not mean I have all the answers or that everyone should just defer to what I think. But it does mean I know what it means to make decisions that impact the lives of tens of thousands of people. How decisions impact a community for decades to come. I know the top two most important issues for a Council are Budget and Public Safety. You have to effectively manage the public’s money and you have to be very transparent about how you do this. The community needs to have trust and confidence in how you go about this. Everything else the City Government does flows from this. In parallel, we need to make sure that the community members are safe and feel safe. This is primarily done through the Sheriff Department and County Fire, but it is also done with the Policies the Council implements and in how they oversee the work done by other organizations.

Another area that is a hot topic for the community; is Housing. I don’t think it is about building or not building housing in Saratoga. It’s about how the City and community can manage housing growth within the current State Laws that restrict our ability to use local zoning and safety laws.