CANDIDATE STATEMENT of CHUCK TOOMBS
I am a member of the ECDC and I seek its endorsement as I run for re-election to our District Board.
I am deeply committed to Kensington’s future. I have ably served Kensington, putting the interests of all Kensington residents first and foremost. If I win with your endorsement and your support I will continue to serve Kensington with the integrity and civility this community deserves. And I will carry the Democratic values and message that are so important to this Club throughout Kensington.
We have asked a Kensington citizen committee to help chart our future and I want to be a vital part of it.
We must examine our current police services, ask what our community wants and ask what it is prepared to pay for.
We must determine if a separate general manager/ chief of police is the best management model and whether it is affordable.
We must determine if a combined district managing both police and fire services is the best way to set community priorities and manage tax dollars needed to pay for them.
We must make these decisions in partnership with our community, fairly, respectfully, and with the best interests of Kensington first and foremost. Only then can we say we have done our best and ably served each other.
I vow to seek the input and opinions of our community as we move forward into our future. We owe it to each other to wrestle with these issues together in a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect as we look to create a sustainable future for all of us.
I respectfully ask for this club’s endorsement.
CANDIDATE STATEMENT of DAVID SPATH
The Kensington community faces important decisions regarding provision of police services, Kensington Police Protection and Community Services District (KPPCSD) management and the structure of Kensington government. These decisions require thoughtful deliberation by and cooperation among the KPPCSD Board and full engagement with Kensington residents to ensure all opinions are heard and considered.
My 44 year professional experience is in public sector service at the local, state and national level. I have worked effectively with people of diverse opinions in an open public process. For example, I’ve chaired the US Environmental Protection Agency, National Drinking Water Advisory Council and, most recently, chaired the KPPCSD’s Ad Hoc Committee on Governance and Operations Structure.
I have considerable experience in public sector management, which is important for a Board member. I have managed state programs with both small and large multifaceted budgets and staff. I understand the challenges of balancing budgets with limited revenue sources while managing personnel costs including salaries, pension and medical benefits.
As a 33 year resident who’s been actively involved in the Kensington community, I am deeply committed to helping develop a sustainable future direction that best meets the values and ideals of the community. I believe my experience and my ability to work cooperatively and effectively with others toward consensus decision-making make me well suited to serve on the Board. KPPCSD and the community are facing important decisions going forward and I hope that you will allow me to help lead that process. I respectively ask for your vote. Thank you
CANDIDATE STATEMENT of EILEEN M. NOTTOLI
Director, Kensington Police Protection and Community Service District
I want to serve as one of your elected directors on the KPPCSD Board, using my experience to help our community work together to balance sound fiscal management with active citizen-based governance.
As a 26+ year Kensington property owner, I care deeply about strengthening our community in the face of shrinking reserves and growing long-term debt. Like many of my neighbors, I’m eager to work together to restore sound community policing, transparency, and exemplary administrative practices. I have the time, temperament and dedication to help our board become better problem solvers.
I am an environmental attorney with the San Francisco firm of Allen Matkins. My education in chemistry led to a legal career advancing client interests through a broad range of regulatory environments. I have solved knotty, contentious public problems and I will use this experience to bring focus and creativity to the KPPCSD board.
I am open-minded and will gather data before taking action. After evaluation of the Ad Hoc Committee’s findings, I recommend obtaining competing bids for police services from the interested agencies to determine whether we can save revenue while meeting community needs. Regarding consolidating fire and police services, it seems reckless to consider this before the KPPCSD gets its own administration and fiscal house in order. Whether to split the General Manager/Chief of Police combined job remains a top priority to ensure the best long term strategy for Kensington.
You can find more about me at bit.do/eileen4kensington.
I appreciate your support and ask for your vote.
Email: enottoli4kensington@gmail.com
CANDIDATE STATEMENT of SIMON BRAFMAN
I am a 3-year Kensington resident, who appreciates the beauty and potential of our community. As a member of the KPPCSD Finance Committee, Ad Hoc Committee on Governance and Operations Structure, and the KCC, I am well acquainted with two critical challenges facing our district:
- Financial Instability
- Lack of Board Accountability to Kensington Residents
The KPPCSD continues to operate without a sustainable, fiscal plan, and often accepts legal turmoil over common sense or community-oriented problem solving. We need to change that approach.
If elected, I will focus on reasonable governing, rather than on control. I will engage our community, ensuring open dialogues about which plans, policies and expenditures will best safeguard Kensington’s future. I will listen to criticism and ideas, responding with reasonable solutions.
I will apply my MBA education and extensive business experience to ensure our community obtains quality services and sustainable, long-term financial stability. I will work to establish a balanced budget, including a five-year financial plan, a reserves policy, and strategies to address all unfunded liabilities threatening Kensington’s long term financial health. I will apply pragmatism to manage our community-oriented police services, our community’s assets, as well as our garbage service contracts and labor negotiations.
As a Director, I won’t just talk about problems. I will promote pragmatic, community-based solutions to address our current and future needs with accountability, creativity and respect, thus making the KPPCSD Board as effective as Kensington is beautiful.
Thank you for your consideration.
CANDIDATE STATEMENT of SYLVIA HACAJ
I am running for the Kensington Police Protection and Community Services District Board to restore trust in our governance, fiscal policy and police services.
I moved to Kensington with my husband in 2008. Our two children attend Hilltop Elementary School and I serve on the Kensington Education Foundation board. I also served on the board of the Kensington Property Owners Association. I run my own consulting practice advising and training nonprofit leaders.
Early in my career, I helped establish the AmeriCorps national service program. I have devoted my professional life to shaping public policy, leading advocacy efforts, and developing priorities and effective fundraising strategies within the national and international philanthropic communities.
These experiences have taught me how to build cooperation and rally others around a common endeavor–skills that can inform my work on the KPPCSD board.
The final report of the Ad Hoc Committee for Governance and Operations Structure presents the new KPPCSD board with fundamental policy choices on how we manage police services and improve Kensington’s governance structure. If elected I will work constructively with board members and residents to analyze our needs and address them in ways that minimize fiscal and legal risk. I will work to diminish acrimony and bolster civic engagement and consensus.
I have the judgment, skills and disposition needed to make good decisions for Kensington at this critical time. If you will give me your vote, I will serve you by listening, and forging solutions that will have tangible, positive and long-lasting impacts on Kensington.