City of Laguna HillsCandidate for City Council

I am a 22 year resident with my wife of Laguna Hills. Our three children attended local schools. I am running for the Laguna Hills City Council, which will have three open seats, in the general election on November 6, 2018. This is my first run for elective office.

I currently serve on the City's Parks and Recreation Commission, have a strong business background including much experience with real estate-related issues, and have the endorsement of current Laguna Hills City Council members Melody Carruth and Dr. Dore Gilbert. I believe I would be a very worthy addition to the Laguna Hills City Council, as I believe the City would benefit from leadership seeking to forge greater ties with the business community. I am "numbers oriented" meaning that I have a ready affinity for, and commitment to understanding, budget and financial issues, attributes which I believe will be helpful in the challenging financial situation the City faces.

My wife Karen heads the 3/5 Marine Support Committee (“Team Darkhorse”), a support group sponsored by the City of Laguna Hills for the 3/5 battalion, 1^st Marine Division, based at Camp Pendleton.We have 3 married adult children: Jack (ex-USMC 1st Lt), employed with a private equity firm based in Manhattan Beach CA; Dean, employed with American Express in New York City; and Alice, head of PR for a start-up on-line insurance firm in Chicago, Illinois.

We have 3 married adult children: Jack (ex-USMC 1st Lt), employed with a private equity firm based in Manhattan Beach CA; Dean, employed with American Express in New York City; and Alice, head of PR for a start-up on-line insurance firm in Chicago, Illinois.

I have been a Republican for 45 years, and am generally pragmatic in my approach to problems, with an emphasis on first ascertaining the facts and second upon seeking the most common sense solution. As pragmatically conservative, I believe, for example, that laws and regulations should be implemented and enforced where the health, safety or well-being, reasonably defined, of people are demonstrably at risk, while government's role should be clearly defined and limited. 

I have been in the private sector all my working life. In my work I frequently deal with city staffs and city governments. I have observed that the best cities - those with the most vibrant economic environments and high quality of life - strive both to work with businesses to enhance their owners' chances for success and to attract new businesses and investment, while working to preserve and enhance their citizens' quality of life. In fact, I have observed that both phenomena - a strong local economy and a high quality of life - are symbiotic and depend upon each other for ultimate success.

In this regard, I have seen in my work the fundamental truth that cities compete with each other to attract amenities, restaurants, businesses and new investment which in turn improve the quality of life for their residents. In short, I believe a robust local economy is essential to a municipality's ability to remain attractive to residents and sustain a high quality of life. So my philosophy is that Laguna Hills needs to remain competitive through a strong economy so that it can continue to enhance its residents' quality of life.

Finally, as a member of the City's Parks and Recreation Commission, I have a good sense of City-sponsored activities and amenities which should be promoted and improved and how to otherwise make Laguna Hills friendlier to families and children; I would work to improve the City's Memorial Day celebration, for example. As a member of the Commission I have been extremely impressed with the City's staff and their efforts to promote a high quality of life within Laguna Hills. I would endeavor to support their efforts as part of my philosophy that puts a premium on a high quality of life for the City's citizens.