Thank You!

 

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the 12 years we have worked together. I have been honored to be your County Supervisor, and I am proud of all that we have accomplished together.

One of the great parts of being an elected official is the opportunity to work with our diverse and talented community. I have witnessed the great resourcefulness of our neighbors and the extraordinary commitment that people have to good policy and needed infrastructure.

I recall meeting with neighbors in my first year who shared with me the problems they were having with vacation rentals in their neighborhood. I pledged to work with them and we drafted an ordinance that established the first limits on short-term rentals in the unincorporated area. We faced a storm of opposition, but the neighbors showed up for every public hearing, even when the opposition yelled and screamed. Seeing their commitment to tackle this “controversial” issue strengthened my resolve on the importance of working to get the ordinance passed and then moving forward to address many other policy battles.

During the tough years of the Great Recession, Chanticleer Park neighbors took on the role of maintaining the land we purchased for a park but didn’t have the funds to move forward with building. They worked with others to create the bike pump track, hold art events, and built a Little Library box for those who visited the park’s only feature, a dog park. Watching two incredible women spearhead a fundraising drive to raise $2 million to make the park a reality was truly amazing.

Summit area residents came to my office to lament the lack of reliable and reasonably priced internet. I could not foresee the adventure that would take us on to leverage a little-known provision in law to get Comcast to provide service. To accomplish the goal of lining hundreds of homes with cable/internet, a 21st century “barn raising” took place, with residents raising $150,000 and then our office identifying a source for the final $100,000.

It has been a joy of a lifetime to participate in these outstanding efforts and see the commitment of people interested in working together to accomplish our shared goals. And I saw it time and time again — the Boys & Girls Club, the purchase of the rail corridor, saving the Soquel Cemetery, and so many more.

I am proud of the policy we created to protect our environment from fracking and from plastic pollution. We ensured a sustainable and reliable water source in the mid-county. We have also been forward-thinking to address climate change by reducing emissions and working on creative adaptation strategies.

I want to thank all the wonderful people who have been part of my staff – Angela Chesnut, Rachel Christopher, Susan Greene, Allison Guevara, Steve Kennedy, Dave Reid, Tony Sloss, and Rita Winnings. I would not have been as successful without their constant support and friendship.