Congratulations to San Mateo's New City Commissioners!

Tonight the City Council appointed three San Mateo residents to important positions on City Commissions.

Rick Bonilla was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission helps approve and enforce development and zoning issues in the City.

Nancy Ruspil was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Senior Citizen's Commission. The Senior Citizen's Commission works on policies and events to help maintain a high quality of life for our City's senior population.

Rosie Rivera was appointed to fill a spot on the Community Relations Commission. The Community Relations Commission oversees allocation of federal funding to support non-profit organizations that provide services to the homeless, children, and seniors.

All of our new appointed Commissioner come with impressive resumes, but more importantly share a passion to serve their community. Congratulations to our new Commissioner!




New Planning Commissioner Rick Bonilla being sworn in by City Clerk Patrice Olds. Congratulations to our new Commissioners!

City Commission Interviews

Tonight I am interviewing candidates for San Mateo's Senior Citizens and Community Relations Commissions. There are many qualified San Mateo residents interviewing tonight for these very important positions.
City Commissions serve a vital role by acting as advisory commissions to the City Council. They make policy and funding recommendations on issues such as senior services, funding for non-profit organizations, and a host of other issues.
If you have an interest in serving the City, I urge you to learn more about out City's Commissions, and consider applying!
Good luck to tonight's candidates!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad. Apologies for typos!

Supporting our Youth Leaders in San Mateo

This month I have been busy supporting our youth leadership in San Mateo.

On March 11, I served as a speaker on local government issues at the San Mateo County Youth Leadership Conference at the College of San Mateo. 

Hosted by the San Mateo County Youth Commission, the day-long conference featured a wide range of topics including discussion of local and national policy issues, and the screening of two youth-created films. 

There was also a free demonstration on self-defense and conflict resolution (see photos below).  The event was brimming with energy!

On March 28, I completed my fourth year as a volunteer teacher with the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) "Speak and Lead Program", which provides a free six-week course to local high school students to improve their public speaking skills. 

With other community leaders, on March 28 we held the final competition for the program and awarded $900 in scholarship money to five worthy students.

The youth in San Mateo are active in our community, and I am proud to support their efforts!

Here are some photos from the two events:

Self-Defense training at the San Mateo County Youth Leadership Conference.

Final speeches at OCA's Speak and Lead Program - March 28

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Congratulations to New Planning Commissioner Joshua Hugg

At last night's Council meeting, the Council appointed Joshua Hugg to the Planning Commission. 

Josh has served as a Commissioner on the city's Community Relations Commission for the past three years, and works for the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County.  Josh has been active in the community, and we look forward to his talents being brought to bear in making planning decisions that will help our community for years to come.

The process to fill the Planning Commission seat saw an unprecedented interest by residents of San Mateo.  Eleven individuals applied to fill the seat, all of them extremely well-qualified and dedicated to public service in San Mateo. 

Josh fills a seat made vacant by the election of Maureen Freschet to the City Council in November. 

Joshua Hugg - San Mateo's New Planning Commissioner!

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Reaffirming Our Committment to Sustainability

At last night's City Council meeting, our City took several steps to reaffirm our commitment to sustainability in amending the City's General Plan.

The San Mateo General Plan is an important document, in that it lays out the vision and "master plan" for how to grow our City responsibly over the long term.

Our City staff worked for over a year gathering input from residents, meeting with experts, and spending countless hours writing and revising areas of the General Plan dealing with zoning, park space, and sustainability.

In the area of sustainability, especially the area of water conservation and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, we worked in partnership with local groups such as the Sierra Club to strengthen our environmental policies.  In just one of many steps taken in the General Plan, the City now pledges to "Reduce citywide gross water consumption per capita to 102 gallons/day, and reduce the residential per capita to 70 gallons/day." Land Use Goal 8e (p. II-43). 

Thank you again to the City Staff, City residents, and advocacy groups who helped to bring our General Plan up to date! 

Congratulations to New Community Realtions Commissioner Randy Torrijos

Congratulations to San Mateo's new Community Relations Commissioner Randy Torrijos. Mr. Torrijos is a native of San Mateo who is a licensed attorney and works in public service.

Mr. Torrijos will join four other San Mateo residents on the Community Relations Commission. The CRC makes funding recommendations to the City Council on federal funds used to help social service agencies that provide services to seniors, children, and people facing housing problems. They help to make sure none of our fellow residents are without basic services.

Thanks to Mr. Torrijos for his willingness to serve!