Commentary: Message to Healdsburg

Two years ago, I was elected to a third term on the Healdsburg City Council by 2,276 citizens. Housing was certainly one of the most critical concerns of our citizenry. Given my educational and professional background, I was confident that I had much to offer in an effort to develop some solutions.
Over the last two years, the city devoted tremendous effort (financial and staff time) in an effort to guide the community to take some concrete, specific steps to improve the availability of housing that would be affordable to our local employees and residents. The Community Housing Committee was formed with a group of knowledgeable and committed citizens who showed a passion for developing affordable housing solutions. I had the pleasure of chairing that committee in 2015.
My serving on the Community Housing Committee was challenged by a few local citizens, claiming a conflict of interest (perceived or actual) due to my ownership of Healdsburg Lumber. Personal benefit was the farthest thing from my mind when I pushed for the formation of this committee. If the truth be known, the current GMO has probably benefited my company much more that the passage of Measure R could. One of the most obvious unintended consequences of the GMO is that it drove well-monied out-of-towners who were enamored with the Healdsburg lifestyle to purchase the current housing stock, which often required significant investments to bring the homes up to the new owners’ standards.
Those projects often would find their way to Healdsburg Lumber. If Healdsburg had allowed some new developments over the last 16 years, my sense is that many of those buyers would have chosen to purchase new, sparing Healdsburg’s older, established housing stock. As an aside, new construction – especially larger projects, rarely if ever make any purchases from local suppliers. The developers of the project on Healdsburg Avenue probably don’t even know that Healdsburg Lumber exists.
The multi-family projects envisioned by the proponents of Measure R, would similarly likely never consider purchasing materials at the local level. Nevertheless, I understood the perception by those who didn’t understand the dynamics of the construction industry that I could benefit by the increased construction activity, so I resigned from the Housing Committee.
The committee continued their efforts in 2016, coupled with efforts by city staff and housing consultants. Innumerable meetings, workshops, seminars, panel discussions, and the like, were conducted throughout 2015-16 in an effort to educate the public on the many factors that led up to Healdsburg’s current housing crisis, and how our community could best address the situation.
It was the result of these meetings that led the Community Housing Committee, the planning commission, and the city council to endorse Measure R.
I was so impressed with the commitment and amount of work done by so many members of our community. I was dazzled by the Housing Element and Housing Action Plan that was developed under the guidance of Karen Massey, Healdsburg’s Community Housing and Development Director. While there was some debate that led up to Measure R, I felt that the package of reforms were outstanding and promised some element of relief to Healdsburg’s current situation.
Then came election day.
Measure R – the focus of my last two years on the Council, went down in flames, defeated by a margin of 40 percent for to 60 percent against. That is a landslide.
We heard from many voters that what bothered them about Measure R was that they weren’t comfortable with the city council having control over housing decisions, as the current GMO requires a public vote for any amendments. But that really didn’t make sense, as the voters returned both incumbents to the council, and all three elected councilmembers were strong supporters of R.
My takeaway from the election is that there is a large segment of Healdsburg’s population that weren’t engaged in all of the efforts to inform and educate; didn’t participate in the fascinating philosophical debates about growth and government; and simply weren’t interested in anything that might impact their quiet-enjoyment of their protected enclave called Healdsburg. Their priorities didn’t seem to include displaced employees that are forced to make long commutes; shrinking schools; diverse neighborhoods and diverse demographics.
While I didn’t enjoy it, I actually respected and valued the community members who questioned and challenged R, questioned the process and challenged my independence and commitment to the cause. They kept the process honest and transparent and their voices were most certainly heard.
What causes me the greatest concern is the percentage of those who voted No on R, whose sole motivation was to preserve the status quo because that’s what they bought into and what keeps them comfortable. My sense is that there is a serious lacking of social responsibility and social consciousness by many who simply wish to preserve their social museum known as Healdsburg.
As I processed all my emotions that led up to election night and beyond, I realized that it was no longer in my interest or in the interests of Healdsburg to continue in my capacity on the City Council. I am disappointed and in fact, embarrassed by the community’s response to what I felt was an outstanding plan of action. I am in awe of the commitment and hard work by the Healdsburg Housing Committee, Healdsburg’s Planning Commission, the City Council, the consultants, and especially the city staff. They never had a political agenda. All they all wanted to do was to fix a most-pressing problem.
Maybe a new set of leaders can forge a different path that might motivate the community to acknowledge the existence of a serious problem, and accept the responsibility to try to resolve it.
(I’ll be in the audience for moral support.)
My resignation is effective as of December 31, 2016. Thank you for the opportunity to serve.