Candidate for
Councilmember; City of Soledad

My husband Graig and I have resided in Soledad for 30 years. We heve three children: Julie, who is married to Police Sgt. Bobby Carrillo; Susan Halvorsen and husband Mark, and Jim Stephens, a graduate student at Penn. State University. We also have two grandchildren: Caitlyn and Will Halvorsen.

Throughout the years, as a family, we have been very involved in out community, including Little League, Soledad police and fire departments, their annual food and toy drives, and Soledad 4-H just to name a few. In addition, we have hosted 11 foreign exchange students from almost all of the corners of the world through various programs including AFS. As a result, we have two grandchildren in Japan with our exchange daughter Yukiko and our grandaughter, Irene, from Italy. Her father is our AFS son, Paolo.

I have also served on the Soledad Community Health Care District Foundation for more than 25 years and have been a member of the Soledad Education Foundation since its inception. I am also a member of the Community Action Team of Soledad (CATS), which raises money for youth and gang prevention activities. CATS sponsors leadership training for our middle school students and pays for swim lessons for all of Soledad's third grade students.

As a reporter and Editor of the Soledad Bee newspaper for many years, I attended all city council and planning commission meetings. As a result, I am not only familiar with the issues facing the Soledad community but also the history behind the issues.

Serving as a city council member the past four years and Mayor Pro Tem the past two years has been a wonderful experience. During my tenure as a council member, I have represented the city serving on the Association of Monterey Bay Governments (AMBAG) board of directors.I also serve on the executive board of AMBAG. In addition, I serve on the Inter-Regional Partnership board with Silicon Valley elected officials. The purpose of the board is to open communication between the regions on issues affecting our county, including the adverse impact on our transportation and housing caused by Silicon Valley's rapid expansion. I also serve as First Vice President of the League of California Cities, Monterey Division Board and was appointed by Supervisor Lou Calcagno to serve on the Central Salinas Valley's General Plan Blue Ribbon committee.

I am currently employeed part time as a library clerk at Gabilan Elementary School. Because of my involvement in promoting literacy at my school, I was awarded the Lighthouse for Literacy Award in 2002 from the Monterey County Chapter of the International Reading Association. In addition, I applied for and received a grant to plant a 60X120-foot butterfly garden for the students at Gabilan School. Through our efforts, more than 75 parents, students and friends showed up on our first garden day to plant more than 150 shrubs, plants and seeds that attract butterflies. We have had several work days to take care of the garden, which is designed not only to beautify our school, but also to be used by teachers as a teaching tool.

It has been an honor and a priviledge to serve the citizens of Soledad the past four years while serving on the city council. I serve no other special interest group other than you, the citizens of Soledad. With your help, I will continue to focus my efforts to improve the quality of life for all of us. Thank you for your continuing support.