Community Life
As a councilmember, I would hold the City accountable to its responsibility of providing a robust, sustainable, and empowering community life that enables each and every individual and family who desires to do good to reap abundantly. Instead of assuming I know what everybody wants, I would take a data-driven approach to representing the voices of La Verne residents, particularly those in District 1. I would use all of the tools I have gained through my education and professional experience to gather robust information from the community and take a streamlined approach to using that data to make decisions as a councilmember.
Cities, like any other organization, must be forced to answer the question, "What value do we produce for our stakeholders?" Obviously, cities have many stakeholders. The more stakeholders, the merrier. However, the more stakeholders there are, the more complicated it becomes to provide value to each one. I conducted ten years of research, wrote a dissertation, and have continued to learn more and more. Through my learning and experience, I believe the City of La Verne should approach community life collaboratively and multidimensionally.
First, I believe the City of La Verne should list and map every single community asset. Second, I believe the City should ask, "What is the most each of these assets can provide to the City?" Third, I believe the City should ask, "How can we support each asset so it contributes the most it can to the City?" Fourth, I believe the City should ask, "What protections need to be in place to protect both the asset and the City from as many potential problems as possible (risk management)?" Fifth, I believe the City should ask, "What are the particular costs, trade-offs, and benefits to be derived from the anticipated contribution compared to the anticipated support needed for each asset?"
From there, I would want to see each asset on a spreadsheet and ranked based on various variables, including: (1) projected type of impact, (2) projected level of impact, (3) projected source(s) of impact, (4) projected costs of support, and (5) projected net cost-benefit. I would want established tiers based on the various assets. Then, I would want to see a development plan that best optimizes a portion of City resources to empower and support community assets, likely in phases based on costs and the availability of resources. The assets would cover every—or at least most—aspects of community life. I would want to see our budget prioritize local assets within the City to provide the necessary and desired elements of community life before relying on external assets.
My role as a councilmember would be to collect data from my constituents on a couple of things: (1) which sources of impact matter most, (2) how important each impact and source is, (3) where they would want to see City resources prioritized, and (4) their ideas on engaging available community assets to deliver the anticipated impact. I would use this data together with the asset data and base each policy decision I make on that information.
Additionally, I would want to see a strategic plan that incorporates the expansion of these assets and the corresponding impact each intervention is having on community life within the City. I would want to ensure the City is meeting its development goals through these assets, as well as the delivery goals of each asset, and evaluate how each is impacting the quality of life of our stakeholders.
ChatGPT Revision:
One of the primary responsibilities of city government is to cultivate an environment where people, families, businesses, nonprofits, schools, churches, and civic organizations can thrive together. Government cannot—and should not—do everything. Its greatest role is to identify, support, coordinate, and empower the people and organizations already doing good within the community.
As your councilmember, I would hold the City accountable for providing a robust, sustainable, and empowering community life that enables every individual and family who desires to contribute to flourish. Rather than assuming I know what everyone wants, I would represent District 1 using a data-driven approach. My goal would be to continually listen, gather meaningful information from residents, and use that information to guide every policy decision I make.
A Different Way of Thinking About City Government
During more than ten years of research culminating in my doctoral dissertation, I explored a simple question:
How can communities better leverage the assets they already possess to improve quality of life?
That research fundamentally changed how I think about local government.
Cities, like every successful organization, should continually ask themselves:
What value do we create for the people we serve?
Answering that question requires more than good intentions. It requires understanding every resource available within the community and intentionally helping those resources succeed.
My Framework
I believe the City of La Verne should begin by identifying and mapping every significant community asset.
Those assets include businesses, nonprofits, schools, churches, service organizations, neighborhood groups, youth programs, senior organizations, volunteers, community leaders, and residents themselves.
Once those assets are identified, the City should ask five questions.
First: What is the greatest contribution this asset can make to the community?
Second: What support does this asset need to maximize that contribution?
Third: What partnerships could increase its impact?
Fourth: What risks should be managed to protect both the organization and the City?
Fifth: Do the expected community benefits justify the City's investment of time, money, and resources?
This process transforms city government from simply funding programs into strategically investing in the organizations and people already improving La Verne every day.
Making Better Decisions
Good policy requires more than good ideas.
I would want every significant community asset evaluated using objective measures such as:
projected community impact;
magnitude of impact;
who benefits from that impact;
costs of supporting the asset; and
overall public value generated.
Using this information, the City could establish priorities, develop measurable goals, and allocate resources where they produce the greatest benefit for residents.
I also believe our budget should prioritize strengthening local assets whenever possible before relying on outside organizations. La Verne already possesses remarkable people and institutions. Our responsibility is to help them succeed.
Listening Before Leading
My responsibility as a councilmember would not be to decide what is best for everyone.
My responsibility would be to listen.
I would continually gather information from District 1 residents about:
which community outcomes matter most;
how different priorities should be balanced;
where City resources should be invested; and
new ideas for strengthening our community.
That resident input would be combined with measurable community data so policy decisions are informed by both evidence and the voices of the people I represent.
Measuring Success
Government should not simply create programs.
It should measure results.
I would advocate for strategic plans that establish clear goals, monitor progress, and continually evaluate whether City investments are actually improving quality of life.
If something works, we should expand it.
If something is not working, we should improve it or redirect those resources elsewhere.
What This Means for La Verne
This philosophy leads naturally to practical ideas, including:
restoring the D Street Farmers Market;
creating a La Verne Running Club and an annual 1.5-mile, 5K, and 10K community event;
expanding neighborhood watch programs;
improving neighborhood lighting and advocating for safer speed limits where children and seniors regularly gather;
increasing intergenerational programming that connects seniors, students, and families;
strengthening partnerships with nonprofits, schools, businesses, churches, and civic organizations; and
intentionally recruiting, supporting, and coordinating organizations of every size that contribute to community life.
These are examples—not the destination.
The larger goal is to build a City that continually discovers, develops, connects, and empowers its own people. I believe La Verne already has everything it needs to become one of the strongest communities in California. The role of city government is not to replace those strengths, but to help them flourish.