PUBLIC SAFETY:

Our quality of life is dependent upon keeping our streets safe. High crime rates adversely impact the livability of our city and our ability to attract new businesses. I fully support our police department's war on gangs. I will also work to increase our police force without raising taxes. Fresno currently has a police force ratio of 1.7 officers per 1,000 people and we need to increase that ratio to a minimum level of 2 officers per 1,000 as soon as possible. It is important to support cost-effective programs that keep kids out of gangs.  We also need to upgrade the readiness standard of our Fire Department.


ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:

The three most important things here are jobs, jobs, and jobs. We cannot sustain our community without a healthy economy. Supporting existing business and bringing in new business is essential to our local economy. Public-private sector partnerships are the best models for achieving success. Jobs for our youth will keep them off of the streets and make them productive members of society.


PLANNING AND GROWTH:

The 2025 General Plan is the blueprint for the future growth in Fresno. I support the direction of growth and innovative features of the general plan including higher density and mixed used developments, more space for parks and activity centers that encourage using mass transit. I also support the recent increase in development fees to pay for infrastructure and street maintenance. We also need to work with communities throughout the Valley to develop regional planning standards and goals.


AIR QUALITY:

The San Joaquin Valley experiences some of the worst air quality in the nation. We pay a high price for non-attainment of air quality: one in five children have asthma and as estimates annual economic loss of $3.2 billion. I support efforts to improve our air quality by getting the gross polluters off our roads now and using technology to accelerate plans to achieve clean air attainment by or before 2017. We will not accomplish clean air simply by regulating- we need to encourage people and business to be more environmentally conscious with incentives and education.


GOVERNANCE:

We need leaders in city government who will put aside their egos and work towards making Fresno a better place to live and raise our kids. I embodied this unselfish principle during my tenure on the Planning Commission. Facts over emotions and well-thought out policies and decisions over rash judgments will move our City forward.


CONSOLIDATION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT:

We need to make consolidation of duplicate services of city and county law enforcement agencies a top priority. The savings generated by consolidation will put more officers on the street and make our city safer. There's been more than enough talk for way too long. Now is the time for action.