Background and Qualifications

ELECTED and serving on the Arcata City Council, 2004.

CHAIRPERSON
Humboldt County Transit Authority (HTA)

REPRESENTATIVE  for HTA to Humboldt County Organization of Governments (HCOG)

PAST MEMBER of the City of Arcata Transportation and Safety Committee 1997-2004.

ACTIVIST opposing Janes Creek West, a proposed development of 900 homes in the Arcata Bottoms.

TEACHER of Spanish at Pacific Union School, Arcata.

MEMBER of the Solar Access Committee for the City of Ukiah.

UNION LEADER of Teamsters Local 624 at Masonite Corp in Ukiah, CA

MILLWRIGHT at Masonite Corp. Ukiah, CA

PROJECT MANAGER for control sytems in tall buildings, hospitals, schools, hotels.

ENGINEER-DIRECTOR of Marketing/Sales for hybrid optical electronics.

US ARMY 1963-1966

Bilingual teaching credential, CSU L.A. 1992
B.S. in Engineering  CSU at L.A. 1972

Biographical Info

I moved to Arcata 15 years ago.   I was a single parent with three sons, aged 14, 12 and 8 years old.   We knew no one and I didn’t have a job.   Looking back at it, it must have been a lot harder on them than me, but we were together and that made a big difference. 

Why Arcata?   It’s the only small town in Northern California with a State University.  We had lived in Ukiah and it was time to move on.  Here the University creates a culture that is constantly being re-created.  And here, there is the possibility to re-invent oneself with education.  I received my bilingual teaching credential in 1992 at Cal State LA. and I was looking to get a job teaching in Arcata.

 I am self-employed as a landscaper.  When I cut my neighbors’ lawns at age 10, I yearned for the day when I had a real job with a check at the end of the week and a social security card.  I would never have guessed in 1972, as I graduated from Cal State LA with a degree in engineering, that I would be mowing lawns 30 years later.  Along the way I’ve been a teacher (I taught Spanish at Pacific Union School, 1993-2000), a substitute teacher, a teacher’s aide, a millwright (Masonite Corp. 1979-1989), a Project Manager and Control Center Specialist (Robertshaw Controls Company (between 1973-1979), sales engineer and director of marketing  for small optical and electro-optical companies, a restaurant manager, a deli-worker, a factory worker, a laborer, and I served three years in the Army.  

I’ve been involved with the City and politics as a member of the Arcata City Council, elected in 2004; as a member of the Humboldt County Association of Governments (HCOG); as a member for seven years of the Transportation Safety Committee; as election precinct inspector for eight years at City Hall; as a volunteer and fund raiser for the Paul Gallegos no recall campaign; a member of the California Teachers Association (1993-2000); a campaign worker  for Jennifer Hannan in 1996; an activist opposing  the proposed Janes Creek West City / Simpson 900 home Arcata Bottoms development; a member of the City of Ukiah Solar Access Committee; P.T.A. president of the Redwood Valley-Calpella PTA; a volunteer/activist in the Dan Hamburg supervisor no recall in Ukiah; and a member/shop steward/business agent for the Teamsters Local 624 from 1979 to 1989.

Now, since my sons are grown and have left home, I have the time to devote to the County as your Supervisor.  I look forward to working with every other Supervisor.  I have learned how to work with a group and come to decisions through my time with HCOG, with the Arcata City Council, with Transportation Safety Committee, and from my past experience as a teacher and union leader.  As a union leader I have negotiated contracts, filed grievances and gone through the arbitration process.