About Gary

Serving as your city councilman, Gary has used his 30 years of CPA experience to help balance our city budget in tough economic times.

On the City Council, Gary has fought hard to support local businesses that create jobs, fully fund parks, recreation centers, senior and youth services – while ensuring our tax dollars are used as intended, especially on gang prevention.

Gary has voted against water rate hikes that ratepayers shouldn’t have to pay, against staff contract extensions that our city couldn’t afford, and against parking fees for Howarth Park that families couldn’t afford.

Meanwhile, Gary helped negotiate a better trash deal for ratepayers, bring home nearly $700,000 in state and federal monies for the 6th Street undercrossing, and wooed the Tour of California back to Santa Rosa, leading to nearly to over $1,000,000 in tourist dollars.

Gary is running for re-election because his work is not done yet. He wants to continue my fight for fairness and accountability for all of Santa Rosa’s residents and local businesses.

As a small business owner himself, and as an advisor to other small businesses, Gary knows what it takes to survive tough times. He also understands government’s responsibility to balance the needs of the business community with the quality of life that Santa Rosa deserves.

As a former teacher at Sonoma State and Piner High School, Gary feels an obligation to leave a better Santa Rosa for future generations. This means a city not overburdened with debt or pension obligations we can’t keep. It also means a livable city that has preserved its neighborhoods, connections to nearby open spaces and bicycle paths, and a vibrant local economy.

As past President of the Junior College Neighborhood Association, he knows the value of community input on important decisions. Gary has been and will continue to be “Our Neighborhood Leader” reaching out to local neighborhood activists on SMART station construction, planning issues, beautification projects and public safety concerns such as gangs and graffiti. Gary remains accessible and engaged in our community.

Gary was also founding board member of the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition, fighting for better bikeways, alternative transportation routes, reducing auto traffic, and improving pedestrian pathways. As Sonoma Conservation has said, Gary “gets the big picture” of how local transit options and protecting our environment intersect with our economy.

Gary still believes Santa Rosa can still deliver a balanced budget that works for our entire community, that we can encourage job creation while still protecting our environment and keeping our city safe.