In 1969, I moved to La Cañada Flintridge with my wife and three children looking for great schools, a great church and a safe place to raise a family — the same reasons most of the new younger residents are currently moving to La Cañada Flintridge.
At that time, La Cañada Flintridge was part of the unincorporated area of L.A. County. In 1976, a group of citizens with a vision toward the future to form a new city went to the LAFCO commission at county hall to apply for cityhood. This county body is the same commission that I serve on today with Supervisor Janice Hahn and our own Supervisor Kathryn Barger.
Deciding to get more involved in local city issues, I volunteered to join the effort to unify our school district (the Sagebrush issue) serve on the educational foundation board and was appointed to the Public Safety Commission in the late 1980s.
In 1992, I ran for City Council to focus on improving our downtown village, bring sewers to the city and support our community center board of directors by serving on that board. Currently, 75% of our homes now enjoy the health and convenience of connecting to sewers. I am seeking re-election to our experienced City Council to finish the move to our new City Hall, maintain public safety working with staff and our new sheriff’s captain and improving our focus on open government with the use of new technology.
I bring the same enthusiasm to improve the quality of life in our great city as I did the first time I was elected.
My service and experience in local and regional government is a major asset that I bring to the Council.
Currently, I represent LCF on a significant group of boards and commissions. The L.A. County Mosquito Abatement Board, the Library Commission, the Sheriff’s Liability Trust fund Oversight Commission, Sanitation Districts 28 and 34, and the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority, which insures local governments and agencies with liability and workers’ compensation coverage.
As I look to the near future for La Cañada Flintridge, I will focus on fiscal stability, keeping crime low, supporting our great schools to integrate the Sagebrush territory into a unified city school district, providing an efficient and customer-friendly new City Hall and reduce trash truck traffic to a minimum.
Our city is not isolated in a region of L.A. County. Understanding regional governance issues gives me the unique ability to oppose the extension of the 710 Freeway, which would bring increased pollution and noise.
Great communities such as La Cañada Flintridge just don’t happen by accident. It requires a lot of hard work by dedicated, experienced Council members and city staff. I pledge to continue to focus on making this the greatest city in L.A. County and the state, so I ask for residents to support my re-election to City Council.
Guest Column: Dave Spence
