I recently wrote about land development use issues in the
Glendora South Hills, and it generated some off-line discussion locally so I'd like to introduce to you a local environmental activist and current Glendora City Council Candidate Kristin Parisi.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your professional background.
Both my husband and I are transplants from the Midwest to California, and we chose Glendora nearly 25 years ago as the place we wanted to raise our family. Soon after our children started school, I got involved in PTA and with other local issues and was quickly “hooked”.
Growing up, my folks were small business owners and we were always active on local issues and local politics. My mother owned and operated our small town newspaper and my father was a local politician. I was raised to believe you “Can’t complain if you don’t get involved”, so it was a natural step for me to provide information that helped the community, try to get our elected officials to listen, and work on the campaigns of candidates I believe in.
As a community volunteer, I published a little paper called “Glendora Life” from 1998-2007. It was Glendora’s “alternative” source of information. We dug for facts and reported news that other local media chose to ignore. Over the past 12 years, I have gradually become more informed, more involved, and more committed to being the type of voice in city hall our citizens deserve.
In my life, I’ve held many different jobs including teacher, college administrator, and policy analyst, but none more fulfilling or rewarding than the work I do now as a Children’s Social Worker. Every day I am in touch with some of our most needy families and feel blessed to have an opportunity to try and answer those needs, whether its safety, emotional strength, food or housing.
I hold a masters degree in Public Administration. I am dedicated to public service, and I will bring my communications skills and broad experience as an administrator, educator and social worker to the Glendora city council.
What do city council members do?
At best, city council members are the most accessible face of government for the citizens. The council sets policy on everything from where you can walk your dog, to the number and size of your business signs. The council plays a huge role in land use and planning decisions that impact the future of communities. Councils make decisions that determine the amount of open space and parkland to protect, the policy on recycling, which congestion management and traffic calming efforts to fund. These are all policies the city council decides on.
Council members are expected to be responsible enough to research issues they
vote on. They should listen and give voice and consideration to the values, opinions, and preferences of their constituents as part of their decision process. Of course, there are competing interests to be considered, but council members should give them all fair consideration and seek solutions and build consensus for decisions that better the entire community, not simply appease their friends or those with the loudest voices.
Unfortunately, what council members do and what they are supposed to do are often not the same. We all know that far too many elected officials succumb to the pressure of repaying favors to those who financed their campaigns.
Kristin Parisi City Council Candidate Waving to Crowd, Glendora Christmas Parade, California
Why do you want to be a Glendora City Council member?
Again, I think the process should be inclusive. When planning to balance housing needs with sustainability, protection of open space and quality of life, for instance, the process yields better results when the process is inclusive. That balance only comes when there are independent voices on the council and a real debate about the huge changes proposed for our community, and the possible solutions.
Since I got involved locally more than a dozen years ago, I’ve shown my concern for every area of our city and the kinds of decisions that are made to protect and improve our neighborhoods by being actively involved, speaking out to the Planning Commission and the City Council, providing written comments to environmental impact reports, and challenging decisions when I thought they were made in error, like the decision to place a commercial nursery operation in a wilderness park.
I’m running for the Glendora City Council because I still believe that discussion, dialog and debate are healthy. I believe in democracy and that everyone should have a place at the table. When we listen and consider everyone’s opinions and have a real, authentic commitment to inclusion and planning, we arrive at better decisions.