My great-grandfather moved to Sonoma County during the depression and started a little farm off of Fulton Road. My family roots go deep in Sonoma County and in Santa Rosa. I am the fourth generation living in Sonoma County, I have been involved in our schools and community as an elected official and as an engaged member, being involved with local and regional boards and committees. Although the vast majority of my involvement has been in education and support for families and students, my knowledge in working with our communities and background in finance and policy uniquely qualified me for this role. Ultimately, the city council chose me to fill the vacant seat on the Santa Rosa City Council this past February. I can think of no better time for my background, skills and commitment to my community to benefit the City of Santa Rosa. I have the passion and the drive that it takes to continue to be an effective City Council Member. Being a servant leader is by no means glamourous and it is a ton of hard work, but I believe in hard work just like my great-grandfather.
I am no stranger to making tough decisions during challenging times. I am a good listener and a very quick learner. I am very familiar with governance and how to work as a team for the best outcomes. Our community has been dealing with one crisis after another for years: fires, floods, a pandemic, school closures, business closures, mass power outages, etc. I am a problem solver by nature, and I enjoy working with people and hearing their ideas on how to make things work even better.
When the 2017 fires devastated Santa Rosa, my small business, a heating and air conditioning company that my husband Mike and I run, assisted building back Coffee Park. In 2019 when the fires struck again, my own home was almost lost. Were it not for the incredibly brave and outstanding work of our local fire departments and law enforcement personnel evacuating and protecting our area and community members, we would have lost our home and far more than we did. Although we were lucky to not lose our home, we still had massive damage to it and still see many of our neighbors in the rebuilding process. That’s what we are being faced with again plus the pandemic impacts – building back our businesses, our homes, and a stronger infrastructure to support all of our community members.
I have lived in Sonoma County my entire life and, I have lived in Santa Rosa for 37 years and for thirteen years I lived Cloverdale from 2004-2017, where we raised our three boys. In 2017 we moved back to Santa Rosa where my husband Mike and I own North Bay Commercial Services Inc. (NBCS Inc.) a locally owned and operated commercial and residential, union heating and air conditioning business since 2011.
We have three sons, Denton, Cole and Tanner. Denton and our daughter-in-law Blaire are both teachers who just had our first grandchildren, twin boys – Miller and Bowen. Our son Cole and his fiancé Vivian are both recent graduates of the University of Hawaii. Cole is the newest employee of NBCS Inc., currently in the Sheet Metal Workers Local 104 apprentice program. Vivian works for the County of Sonoma. Tanner, my youngest, is a student majoring in physics. Our pug dog Rosie and new grand-dog Obi round out our family.
City Council Service
It has been a great honor to serve on the Santa Rosa City Council these past months. As the current City Councilmember for of the City of Santa Rosa, District 3, I am part of a seven-member council that makes decisions for the City of Santa Rosa on your behalf.
Over the past several months I have had the opportunity to meet with nearly every department of the city, giving me a better understanding on how all of the puzzle pieces fit. I have met with incredible leaders in our community and community groups to see how we can better work together.
Since I have been on the council, we have set our goals for the next year, passed a mid-year budget – the first balanced budget that the City has had in years. We approved a significant number of resolutions and acknowledgements – many through proclamations. We are currently working on the City’s workplan that will come before the council this summer – this plan is how we will achieve our goals that we set in February 2022. As the liaison to three separate city council committees, I attend the Board of Public Utilities liaison meetings, Climate Action committee, and the Open Government and Community Engagement Committee meetings. I am honored to be in this position, I am ready and excited to continue the work we need to do for our community. I hope to continue to work on your behalf.
