Balanced… Decisive… Leadership…?

For my campaign branding, I chose “balanced… decisive… leadership…,” and many have asked me just what those mean.

Balanced

With “balanced,” I mean that I am open- and fair- minded. I am a pragmatist who will make decisions based on listening to all input, make use of the best available information (and science, where appropriate), and make decisions based on that information rather than from ideology. There are many groups and individuals in Albany who have strong perspectives and are vocal in expressing them. I am beholden to no group other than the citizens of Albany at large and will always make decisions based only on what I feel is best for the city.

I make a point of telling my supporters that, when elected, if I do not make some decisions that they disagree with, I’m not doing my job — because I don’t represent them, I have to represent everyone equally.

Decisive

While observing council and commission meetings over the last several years, I’ve sometimes been disappointed when an issue or decision was drawn out and delayed. I was not on those bodies at the time, so won’t pretend to understand the full reason behind those actions, but it sometimes seemed to me that the body was unwilling to make a decision that would be unpopular, at least with the people in the room. In my opinion, this is how the planning process for a new Safeway can drag on to more than eight years, or a cell phone base station installation application can be denied after nearly five years of consideration — for a fault that was present from day-one. This background is part of why I was so proud of the current City Council when they voted to move forward with the UC Village development in the face of dramatic public comment in opposition to it.

In business and while leading the Chamber of Commerce, I’ve had to make unpopular, difficult decisions and then stick to them. I understand that sometimes delay is worse than denial, and that after the arguments have been made it is time for a decision — not a time to avoid doing what might be unpopular.

Leadership

In line with “decisive,” leadership is about movement and progress. It is also about setting an example and being open and transparent about decisions that are made. I have heard time and time again at council or commission meetings that a commenter feels ignored or that their concerns were not considered. Public decision-makers have a responsibility to explain why they make the decisions they do — that’s part of leadership, and failing to do that leads to unrest and, potentially, to law suits.