What Transparency Means to Me
The word “transparency” can mean different things to different people. So I think it’s important to explain what transparency means to me and what residents can expect from me if I have the opportunity to serve on the Rohnert Park City Council.
First, when I talk about transparency, I am not making a judgment about anyone’s character or integrity. I’m talking about an approach to public service and a standard I want to hold myself to as an elected representative.
Posting an agenda, publishing a report, or announcing a decision is important. But simply making information available does not necessarily mean residents have been meaningfully engaged.
Transparency means intentionally bringing the community into the conversation, ideally before major decisions are made and while there is still an opportunity for public input to make a difference.
That means proactively communicating about issues that could significantly affect our community, explaining what is being considered and why, discussing the options and tradeoffs, and creating meaningful opportunities for residents to ask questions, raise concerns, and offer ideas.
It also means being accessible. I don't believe residents should have to closely follow every City Council agenda or search through lengthy documents just to discover an issue that could significantly affect their neighborhood, finances, privacy, or quality of life.
When an issue matters, we should make an intentional effort to engage the people who may be affected.
And then comes perhaps the most important part: listening.
Public engagement shouldn't simply be a box we check before moving forward. If residents raise legitimate concerns, identify consequences we haven't considered, or offer a better approach, we should be willing to take another look.
That is what a two-way conversation looks like.
Engagement Before the Decision
As a candidate for Rohnert Park City Council representing District 2, I believe the best time to engage residents is before a major decision is finalized, when their participation can potentially help inform the outcome.
Our community deserves to understand why something is being considered, what alternatives exist, what the tradeoffs are, and how a decision could affect them.
This is especially important when we are talking about issues that directly affect residents’ wallets, privacy, neighborhoods, and quality of life.
My Transparency Pledge
If elected to represent District 2, I will work to:
Engage early. Whenever possible, bring residents into important conversations while issues are still being considered and before major decisions are finalized.
Communicate proactively. Don't simply make information available and expect residents to find it. Make an intentional effort to reach the people who may be affected.
Make information understandable. Government can be complicated. Residents shouldn't have to decipher lengthy reports or technical language to understand an issue that affects them.
Create opportunities for meaningful input. Community engagement should occur early enough for feedback to inform the outcome.
Be accessible. Residents should know how to reach me, ask questions, and share concerns.
Listen—even when we disagree. Meaningful engagement requires being willing to hear perspectives different from our own.
Let feedback matter. When residents identify legitimate concerns, unintended consequences, or better alternatives, I will be willing to reconsider my position.
Explain the outcome. After a decision is made, residents deserve to understand what was heard, what changed, what didn't, and why.
Transparency doesn't mean everyone will agree with every decision. It doesn't mean governing by consensus, and it isn't a criticism of the character or intentions of those who may approach public engagement differently.
For me, transparency is a commitment to how I will serve.
It means recognizing that there is a difference between information being available to the public and government being engaged with the public.
I believe local government works best when residents aren't simply informed—they're engaged.
That's the relationship I want to build with District 2 and the broader Rohnert Park community: open, accessible, respectful, proactive, and genuinely two-way.
Because transparency isn't simply posting information or telling people what happened. It's intentionally inviting residents into the conversation while their voices can still make a difference.
