Supporting Local Business: Partnership and Experience

Small businesses are an important part of what makes Rohnert Park a strong community. They create jobs, provide services, generate revenue that helps support City services, and give our community much of its character.

Throughout this campaign, I have made it a priority to talk directly with local business owners and learn from their experiences. I also recognize the important role the Rohnert Park Chamber of Commerce plays in connecting, supporting, and advocating for our business community.

A strong local economy benefits when business owners, the Chamber, City staff, and elected leaders communicate openly and work together toward shared goals.

Listening to the People Doing the Work

Business owners understand firsthand what it takes to operate in Rohnert Park. They experience City processes, manage rising costs, respond to changing markets, employ our neighbors, and see opportunities that may not always be visible from City Hall. Their perspective matters.

As a Councilmember, I would remain accessible to individual business owners while maintaining a strong relationship with the Chamber and other organizations that support our local economy.

That does not mean every business concern will have a simple solution. It means those perspectives should be part of the conversation when the City considers policies, development, infrastructure, and other decisions that affect our economic future.

Experience I Can Bring

This is also an area where my professional experience can contribute.

For more than 20 years, I have worked in healthcare performance improvement, with responsibilities involving budgets, contracting, negotiations, process improvement, performance measurement, supplier relationships, and complex problem-solving.

Much of that work requires bringing people with different priorities to the same table.

Organizations have financial and operational needs. Suppliers have their own business realities. Employees, customers, and other stakeholders are affected by the decisions being made. Successful partnerships require understanding those different perspectives, identifying common ground, measuring results, and developing solutions that can work over the long term.

That is experience I would bring to the City Council.

It has taught me to examine how processes work, use data to evaluate results, understand the financial consequences of decisions, and recognize that strong partnerships depend on communication, accountability, and trust.

Creating the Conditions for Local Businesses to Succeed

City government cannot guarantee the success of any individual business.

But it can help create conditions that support a healthy local economy that includes;

·      Clear, predictable City processes

·      Thoughtful economic development

·      Responsible infrastructure investment

·      Good communication with the business community

·      Workforce and educational partnerships

·      Willingness to examine unnecessary barriers when they arise.

Local businesses employ our neighbors, provide places for us to gather, contribute to the tax base, support community organizations and events, and help make Rohnert Park a place where people want to live, work, and invest.

Their success and our community's quality of life are closely connected.

Building on Rohnert Park's Opportunities

Rohnert Park continues to grow and evolve. New housing, Downtown Rohnert Park, SOMO Village, and our proximity to SMART create opportunities for the local economy.

Taking advantage of those opportunities will require collaboration and thoughtful planning.

I want the City to continue building strong relationships with the Chamber and with businesses already invested in Rohnert Park, while also understanding what prospective employers and entrepreneurs need when they consider locating here.

That relationship should work both ways. Business leaders can provide valuable insight about economic conditions and the effects of City policies, while the City can communicate upcoming projects, policy discussions, and opportunities that may affect them.

Supporting local business is not simply about saying we are business-friendly. It is about building relationships, understanding how decisions affect the people who create jobs and invest in our community, and using practical experience to help create the conditions for long-term success.

That is the approach I would bring to the City Council: show up, listen, understand the facts, bring people together, and work toward practical solutions.

A strong business community and a strong Rohnert Park are not separate goals. We succeed together.

Leadership You’ll See. Results You’ll Feel.