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Summary
My experience is extensive in business, as a volunteer, as a City Council member and as Mayor, qualifying me very well to continue serving as your Mayor. I am confident that I have the leadership, knowledge, skills and experience to make Morgan Hill an even better place.
Career
After graduating from UC Berkeley in 1966 with a degree in Mathematics, I started a 38 year career with IBM. I worked in sales and marketing positions in Sacramento and San Francisco, and then transferred to San Jose in 1977 to assume a planning role for computer storage hardware and software products. I had many roles in my San Jose IBM career, and gained extensive management experience.
Morgan
Hill - Early Involvement
My job move to San Jose also brought me to live in Morgan Hill. I finally had enough spare time from job commitments to allow me to get involved locally, coaching youth soccer and assuming a Board position on my neighborhood association in Holiday Lake Estates. I served three terms as president in the early 1980s.
When we moved to Morgan Hill in 1977, the initial growth control initiative known as Measure E was just being adopted by voters to address the strain that rapid growth was putting on the infrastructure of the community. In the 1980s, I was involved with Citizens for Orderly Development (CORD), who led an initiative process to update Measure E to Measure P, eliminating certain loopholes and clarifying the original measure. My involvement got me interested in general community planning and I set an objective to be appointed to the Planning Commission.
Morgan
Hill Planning Commission
After serving on the General Plan Update Committee of 1988-1990, I made several applications to be on the M.H. Planning Commission. I was finally appointed on my sixth try in 1991! I spent seven years on the Commission, an experience I thoroughly enjoyed. The Planning Commission's dedication and hard work, especially in the Measure P (now C) process, is exemplary.
I was appointed as a Planning Commission representative to the next General Plan Update Committee in 1997 and served on it until I was elected to the City Council in 1998.
Transition
to City Council
I had retired from IBM after 30 years in 1996, and was still working there as a supplemental employee. Fortunately, I had a job that was very flexible, so I was able to meet my Council obligations while also giving IBM the effort they deserved. I re-retired from IBM at the end of 2003, so have no other employment and can enjoy serving as Mayor of Morgan Hill with full concentration.
When I was elected to the Council in 1998, the City had recently completed a visioning process where our residents strongly endorsed building community facilities for cultural and recreational purposes. In order to finance the building of the facilities, we needed to extend Morgan Hill's Redevelopment Agency. I successfully led the campaign to secure voter approval for the extension in 1999, my first year on the Council.
City
Council Assignments
Serving as Mayor and on the City Council requires also serving on a plethora of other boards, committees, task forces, etc. I've been Morgan Hill's representative on the County Library authority since I was elected. I've served as Chair of the Joint Powers Authority twice and currently chair the Finance Committee. My strong affiliation with and affection for libraries has also given me other lead roles in the placement, design and financing of our new library, and also in the eventually successful campaigns for the passage of the extension of the County's library parcel tax.
I chaired the task force that did the update of Measure P to Measure C, as well as the task force that updated our Fire Master Plan. I was Vice Chair of the Downtown Plan Committee and chaired the effort to develop our Economic Development Strategy. I've also served on several Water District Advisory Committees, our City/School Liaison Committee and the committee that developed the City's value-based Ethics Policy.
As a Council member and continuing as Mayor, I support both our Youth Action Council(YAC) and our Library, Culture and Arts Commission in an informal liaison role. I also stay involved in many of the great activities the YAC puts on for youth.
I served on two Council committees (Regional Planning and Transportation; Public Safety and Community Services) until 2009 when we discontinued these committees so that all Council members could be involved in all areas. However, we did continue the public safety effort focusing on a regional South County approach to fire and emergency medical services as an ad-hoc committee that is making good progress on that important effort.
When I became Mayor four years ago, my leadership role expanded. It also expanded some more when we discontinued the Council committees, as I am consulted more frequently by staff about items coming to the Council and in setting and overseeing the Council agendas. There are many, many appearances and speaking opportunities, and I represent the City in the association of all Santa Clara County cities and on the Board of our Division of the League of California Cities. I serve as Secretary/Treasurer of the Division now and will move up to Vice President next year. The schedule can get quite hectic, but it's never boring!
In
the Community - Beyond the Council
I joined the Rotary Club of Morgan Hill in 1995 and served as President in 2003-2004. Always an active Rotarian, I especially enjoy working with youth. I started the Interact Club a youth service organization, at Central High School and am still involved there, This past year we started a new Interact Club at Oakwood High School that is flourishing. I am also on the interview and selection team for the annual awarding of Rotary scholarships to High School Seniors.
I've been active in the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce, serving on committees and as an Ambassador to welcome new businesses. I've also been involved in planning and putting on many community events. I was a longtime Committee member of IDI, the folks that put on the annual Fourth of July celebration. Through Jennifer's involvement in the Morgan Hill Historical Society, which she chairs, I find myself quite involved in their events celebrating Morgan Hill's history. The 2006 Centennial celebration was really special and fun; I co-chaired the History Trail project, created at the Morgan Hill House on the Villa Mira Monte site.
I went through the Leadership Morgan Hill program as a student in 2002 and thought it was a terrific experience; a great program to groom future community leaders. I joined the Board and served two terms as president, then "termed out" in 2008. The program just gets better every year, accomplishing very visibly the objective of growing tomorrow's leaders!
I am in my fifth year as a member of the Board of Directors of the Santa Clara County Housing Trust. This organization has a fantastic track record, far exceeding the one billion dollar mark in leveraged funding too make housing more affordable in the Santa Clara Valley, after eight years in operation. I am proud to be part of this organization.
After retiring from the Leadership Board in 2008, an opportunity presented itself to join the United Way of Silicon Valley Board and I started serving there at the beginning of 2009. It has been a great experience and really expanded my contacts in the Silicon Valley region. As the only South County person on the Board, I have been successful in assuring that South County is served by and supportive of United Way's efforts to improve lives by improving income, education and health. We have a South County Council that produced a very successful breakfast in Morgan Hill to increase community awareness of United Way in February.
I have also been an ardent supporter of the El Toro Youth Center, located on Crest Avenue and serving low income families with free after school programs for youth. When they were in need of a new parent organization in 2007, I was able to raise nearly $100,000 which convinced Catholic Charities to take over the administration and supervision of the Center. Last year, we formed Amigos El Toro which I chair, an informal group that is dedicated to supporting the Center in any way needed, which so far has been primarily fund raising.
The non-profit American Institute of Mathematics (AIM), currently located in Palo Alto, is planning to relocate to Morgan Hill on the old Hill Country property, now called the Institute. AIM staff has been doing wonderful things to advance mathematics education in the Morgan Hill community by putting on programs such as Math Counts, Math Mardi Gras and game nights. To support these programs, and also to make the community more aware of AIM and the good work they do, we formed a Friends of AIM group last year that I also chair. Because of funding shortfalls, our current efforts are centered on fund-raising for the Morgan Hill math programs that AIM produces.
Morgan Hill is really special to me and I work very hard to improve what is already an outstanding place, not just in the capacity of Mayor, but also as an involved and caring community volunteer. I have built extensive contacts and valuable relationships that have and will continue to benefit our community. I love this job, I'm good at it, and I want to continue.
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