Policies and Initiatives
Health & Human Services
In these difficult economic times, we need to ensure that our public safety net remains intact, ready to catch those who might otherwise fall through the cracks.
I strongly believe that healthcare is a right, and as such, will continue to work toward the day when every County resident has a medical home that includes preventative care. We also need to emphasize not only individual health, but community health, through programs such as Healthy by Design and Sonoma County Health Action.
Key priorities
- Implementing our County’s Strategic Plan by maintaining frontline services, protecting line staff, and prioritizing upstream, preventative programs
- Ensuring that the Healthcare Access Agreement with Sutter is fully implemented
- Championing community-based health solutions such as Health Action’s iGrow and iWalk campaigns
- Convening a working group to ensure the long-term viability of Sonoma County’s Veterans Memorial Buildings
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Environment
The County of Sonoma is poised to play a key role in protecting our environment through water and energy conservation, ecological restoration, and sustainable use of our resources. This will help preserve open space for future generations to enjoy and ensure that family farms and other historic land uses are not put in jeopardy by overdevelopment and sprawl.
Key priorities
- Championing the Sonoma County Energy Independence Program, which puts energy efficiency, water conservation and renewable energy within reach of more residents and businesses through long-term financing options
- Ensuring that land use decisions incorporate meaningful information on water availability, greenhouse gas emissions and scenic impacts
- Promoting a sustainable approach to groundwater management in the Santa Rosa Plain
- Creating accessibility for hikers, bicyclists and horseback riders to our precious open space assets such as Taylor Mountain
- Adopting a strong green building ordinance that will help meet our aggressive goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15% below 1990 levels by 2015
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Public Safety
We need a new set of tools to address the challenges we face in ensuring that our communities are safe and that our kids stay out of gangs.
Key priorities
- Providing top leadership along with our District Attorney to launch the Family Justice Center, which will provide wraparound services for victims of domestic violence, thereby improving prosecution rates and enforcement
- Leading the effort to assist law enforcement by creating Mental Health Intervention Teams to assist individuals having behavioral incidents stemming from drugs, alcohol or mental illness
- Ensuring that juvenile offenders have choices other than crime by promoting vocational services in the Sierra Youth Camp
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Transportation
As a largely rural county with significant distances between city centers, reliable and affordable public transit options are essential for many of our residents. For our youth, low-income residents and seniors, public transit is often the singular lifeline to jobs, shopping, and critical services. Access must be maintained.
Key priorities
- Protecting service levels and transit coverage to our community, especially during difficult economic times
- In keeping with locally adopted General Plans, creating alternative transportation solutions, including bicycle paths, walkable neighborhoods, and the SMART train
- Leading by example through our County government by greening our fleet of vehicles to dramatically reduce our carbon footprint
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Economic Development & Budget
The worldwide financial crisis has dramatically changed the way we must do business on the local level. Faced with uncertainty in local revenue streams and state and federal funds, we must be accountable and transparent in how we spend taxpayer dollars.
Key priorities
- Supporting the work of the Economic Development Board and other planning bodies to ensure that our County remains an attractive destination for business
- Creating and leading an economic dialogue with diverse stakeholders to explore ways to create jobs while maintaining our quality of life
- Exploring new ways to integrate the emerging green economy with established industries, including tourism, healthcare, and technology
- Ensuring that our educational institutions prepare our youth for skilled jobs in every field, including the trades and high tech. Youth leadership programs such as the Summer Youth Ecology Corps are key to this effort.
- Continuing to protect our most vulnerable residents from bearing the brunt of budget cuts
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