Brisbane will make a spectacular comeback as soon as we get this pandemic, and now, devastating wildfires behind us, or at least under some form of serious control. We are in good shape (financially and otherwise), largely because the people of Brisbane have been accountable to themselves and others, showing sheer strength, leadership and personal accountability and a willingness to act responsibly. I am so proud to belong to this amazing progressive Community.
This year has proven to be one of the most challenging in most of our lifetimes for certain. Everything is different, everything will be different moving forward. We will be working together to create new ways of doing almost every aspect of our lives. Shopping, restaurants, school and all forms of business. Creating opportunities for us to collaborate on how and what new ways we can do our normal everyday things is going to take time and a lot of effort. And now, we need to add another group of people to our list of those in need: Those affected by these fires. YES, this is unfathomable to say the least.
Of extreme importance; we must become more creative and resourceful for our children, for their emotional and pedagogic well being. We must also find or create the resources necessary to assist with the childcare and homecare burdens of our families. It is something that our Schools, the School Board and our City Staff are furiously working on.
Of course our Business Community is also suffering from this pandemic and we are all working together to find ways and solutions to help and encourage our businesses in any way that we can.
I am not rooted in the status quo and have no issue driving reforms of any antiquated systems as and if they arise. We must look forward to a Brisbane of the future.
Promises ~ I will not make promises that I cannot keep. When raising our son, we rarely made promises because we cannot predict the future; this was a point of contention with our son on many occasions, but over time it built trust. I feel the same way today on the City Council
Working in collaboration and with the mindset of forming alliances across the County for the betterment of Brisbane. This is critical to the long term welfare of Brisbane as we join forces with other Cities in the County to keep our decisions local to each Community. We are no longer sequestered; all eyes are on our town. We must do what we can to keep Brisbane as independent as possible and retain local control of our future, therefore I will be seeking endorsements from people with whom I have formed good working relationships within our County. We have many Committees, Sub-Committees and Boards that the Brisbane City Council members fill. I currently serve on 18 such positions throughout the County and this takes up much of my time
In Brisbane we have so much to look forward to ~ If re-elected I would also really push for more downtown beautification, especially at the entrances to town, more social activities that connect our Community from old Brisbane to the Ridge; more music, art, social and civic opportunities. I believe that we have accomplished much in this area in the last three years. It is such a pleasure living in a City where we have so many positive people making huge efforts to make life better for us all. Let's work on that together and make life even better for everyone. Let's work together on our "can do" attitude.
The Brisbane Baylands ~ With the passing of measure JJ, Brisbane retained control of the decision making for the Baylands. In the next couple of years it will be up to the Citizenry to be part of the decision making as to what benefits they would like for the City as a result of this future development. Much has yet to be done before anything can proceed, but it is never too early to start mapping out what you would like to see and bring it to the attention of your Council. What do you want ? A local high school, an incredible set of sporting and artistic facilities? Or how about a first class linear park available to everyone that links old and new Brisbane to the Baylands and Public transportation? Help bring your desires to a reality. And whatever choices are made, I will be supporting the hiring of Labor Union personnel to get the job done right and fairly
School Children and others Residents in need ~ It is a travesty to me that even one person in our Community could even go unfed for one meal ~ EVER. I do not know how to permanently fix that, but I would certainly like to continue with the programs in place that are designed to be safety nets within our Community. https://sites.google.com/view/brisbanecrc/home is one fine example as to the cooperation between various leadership groups (Lions, BVHH, Chamber of Commerce and the City)
Water Catchment ~ Each rainy season, I am more and more baffled as to why we have made no attempt to catch the millions of gallons of water that flow from San Bruno Mountain into our sewer system and ultimately out to the ocean. We pay for that and then we pay SF to bring us water. There must be a better way. I see that SF has actually installed a pilot project on Holloway to collect 1 million gallons of water each year. It is good to see that we have made some improvements in that area with the new catchment areas along the safe routes to school areas, however there is much more we should be doing regarding water catchment and recycling. More residential permitting of water storage is certainly one approach
Parking ~ YES, it is a local nightmare and yes I think it is about time to address it. I am in favor of parking permits. Throughout the Brisbane Residential Area
Family Safety ~ As a long time member of the Brisbane CERT group (Community Emergency Response Team) I am painfully aware that our City of 4500 people could well be on our own in the event of a natural or other disaster. I have tried to push for more outreach and education of our Citizenry for years, but as there has been little interest from the Citizens, not much has happened. Every person we educate regarding how to respond after a disaster is one less person who will be requesting help. So, if re-elected I will have this on my short list of to do items as well.
Reaching Out
As Brisbane is no longer sequestered and invisible to outside influencers, I believe it is imperative that we reach out and build alliances with others within our County. We can achieve a much better outcome for Brisbane's future if we have working and trusted relationships with others. Because of this I will be seeking endorsements from other elected officials in San Mateo County. We are a giant piece in the Bay Area puzzle and all eyes are upon us.
