Part 1: Planning for the Rohnert Park We’re Becoming

When I decided to run for Rohnert Park City Council, one question kept coming back to me:

How do we prepare for the Rohnert Park we’re becoming?

Our city is growing. New homes are being built, new development is being planned, and more people are choosing Rohnert Park as their home.

Growth can bring new businesses, new housing, new opportunities, and new energy to our community.

But growth also requires us to think ahead.

Every new neighborhood, business, or development becomes part of a larger system. More residents can mean greater demands on roads, water, public safety, parks, transportation, and other city services. A decision that makes sense today can have consequences years from now.

Rohnert Park has already done important work to plan for its future. As the city continues to grow, the next Council will have to ensure our infrastructure, finances, and services keep pace.

That is where I believe my professional experience can contribute.

For more than 20 years in healthcare leadership, I have worked in complex organizations where decisions about budgets, operations, staffing, partnerships, and service quality are interconnected. I’ve learned that good decision-making isn’t just about solving the immediate problem. It requires looking at the whole picture, understanding the tradeoffs, and thinking through what happens next.

Growth Requires Looking at the Whole Picture

I support responsible growth and believe Rohnert Park has tremendous potential.

Responsible growth requires us to look beyond what is being built and understand how each decision connects to the larger community.

When we consider significant development, I believe we should ask:

• Can our infrastructure support it?

• Are our roads and transportation systems keeping pace?

• Do public services have the resources they will need?

• How will surrounding neighborhoods be affected?

• What are the long-term financial implications for the city and taxpayers?

• Have residents had a meaningful opportunity to participate in the conversation?

No single question determines whether a proposal is good or bad. Good decision-making means thoroughly considering the whole picture—recognizing the benefits, identifying the tradeoffs, evaluating the alternatives, and considering both the intended and unintended consequences.

Those are not anti-growth questions.

They are responsible-growth questions.

And asking them early can help us make better decisions.

What I Would Bring to the Council

One reason I am running is that I believe my professional experience is particularly relevant to the decisions Rohnert Park will face in the coming years.

Throughout my career, I have made complex decisions involving limited resources, competing priorities, multiple stakeholders, and long-term consequences.

The issues facing city government are different from healthcare, but the leadership discipline is familiar: ask good questions, listen to the people closest to the issue, examine the facts, understand the alternatives, and think through what happens after a decision is made.

That experience does not mean I will have every answer when I join the Council. It means I know how to approach complicated decisions responsibly and thoroughly.

It also means recognizing that the people affected by a decision often bring valuable perspectives that may not be obvious from a report or presentation. I want residents involved early enough that their experiences, concerns, and ideas can genuinely inform the outcome.

I know how to listen without assuming I already know the answer, work with people who disagree, weigh competing priorities, and make decisions with an eye toward the future.

That is the approach I would bring to the City Council.

Planning for What Comes Next

Rohnert Park is at an important point in its development. The choices made over the next several years will influence our neighborhoods, infrastructure, public services, finances, and quality of life.

I want to help shape those decisions and build on the work already underway, while making sure District 2 residents have meaningful opportunities to be heard.

For me, planning ahead means more than having a plan on paper. It means continually asking whether our infrastructure, services, finances, and policies are keeping pace as our community changes.

The opportunity before us is to build on what Rohnert Park has already accomplished while planning thoughtfully for the community we want to become.