Candidate for
Council Member; City of Half Moon Bay

PHILOSOPHY: DEBORAH RUDDOCK

Our elected city councilmembers are trustees and stewards of public resources held in common by members of our incorporated community -- our tax dollars, public works and public lands, utilities, and other services. In electing them we delegate to them the authority to manage and leverage our community resources on our behalf, to responsibly solve problems that are beyond the scope of individuals to handle.

Our city council sets policies and makes decisions that have long-lasting, even permanent impacts in the case of the built environment. Our council also from time to time will confront extraordinary events and emergencies.

So how do we choose among council candidates seeking our vote? How would you choose someone to manage your estate, to make health care decisions for yourself or a family member, to be a guardian for your child? Don't we want our elected officials and others we place in positions of trust to be competent, dependable, and honest? To listen and to hear us and treat us as partners; to think critically, ask questions, and articulate their decision-making process? To anticipate and proactively manage change yet be able to negotiate uncertainty?

All of the above!

I think we also can rightfully ask our councilmembers - our problem solvers-in-chief - to help the best ideas rise to the top no matter the source. They don't have to have all the ideas...just be ready to identify a good one, build on it, and share credit sometimes with others.

Alas, it's an imperfect world. Many candidates and local elected officials have numerous distractions such as (paying) day jobs, families to tend to, and other civic and charitable activities. The position seems to especially attract those engaged souls with already full plates. Sometimes the candidate pickens are just plain slim. To really have the accountable government we, the public, want and deserve, we have to play our part + understanding our mutual roles and responsibilities, choosing wisely, paying attention, and actively engaging with issues as they come up rather than complaining after the fact. Or maybe Be the candidate and councilmember we want to see in our community.

-- Deborah