The City has successfully installed a new traffic signal on Treat Blvd just west of Oak Grove Road, at the Fire Station/Oak Grove Plaza entrance.

This should improve access and safety – and the contractors and city staff are to be commended for getting it done during the brief break between school years.  It will be interesting to see how it operates when school starts.

The next project for Treat Blvd will be median beautification between Oak Grove Road and San Miguel Road.  Stay tuned.

Here’s my official Concord business card.

The phone number- (925) 671-3158 puts you in contact with either Mary Nakamura or Sue Anne Griffin in the City Manager’s office.  If you’d like to meet with me or any member of the Council – they will work to make that happen.

The email – citycouncil@ci.concord.ca.us – works a little differently.  You can put a particular Councilmember’s name in the Subject line of your email or not – almost regardless the result is the same.  The email is printed out, copied and put in each Councilmember’s inbox on their desk at City Hall.  Staff is making sure that all Councilmembers are getting the same information.  It’s just important not to expect a quick reply just because you sent an email.  We are not getting your message instantly – I do not get to City Hall everyday.  My practice is to pickup my packet and inbox on Friday afternoons.  Many emails are expressing an opinion on a matter that will come before Council and I believe, for the most part, the appropriate time to respond is at that meeting – after the public has had their chance to weigh in.  Some of your emails ask specific, technical questions that are more appropriately answered by staff and are routed accordingly.  The rest tend to be critiques, thank yous or invitations to civic/social events.  I read them all.  Thank you and keep ’em coming.

Everyone should be worried that the State is still unable to adopt a budget for the next (actually, this) fiscal year.  It’s starting to have real consequences.

It’s not unusual for the State’s budget to be late.  However, local government budgets were adopted on time – by June 30.  Tough decisions were made by hundreds of cities, counties and special districts.  Yet now "borrowing" from local governments, redevelopment agencies and voter-approved transportation funds appear to be on the table.

Mayor Bill Shinn has written this letter (pdf) to Senator Tom Torlakson and Assemblymember Mark DeSaulnier opposing borrowing from local government and closing with "…the State should balance its budget with state funds – no more and no less."  Bill’s absolutely right.

I believe Senator Torlakson and Assemblymember DeSaulnier are trying to to the right thing.  They need our support and need to hear from us.

I’m going to try a little experiment.  Create "virtual office hours" via this blog.

If you have questions or concerns about local government in Concord let me know by leaving a comment on this or future postings.  I’ll do my best to get you an answer or refer you to someone who can.  I will moderate all comments…keep it clean and to the point or it won’t make the cut.

I will also post occasional comments or links to happenings in the news.  If this gets too boring for you please see HalfwaytoConcord.com or Claycord.com for their "infotainment" value.

Remember – if you want to communicate with the entire Concord City Council you can send an email to citycouncil@ci.concord.ca.us .

I was extremely humbled and honored last night as the Concord City Council chose me to fill the council vacancy and complete the term of the late Councilman Michael Chavez.

I want to thank those in the community who expressed support for my application.  Now I will need your support and advice in dealing with the issues and opportunities facing Concord.

I also want to encourage the other applicants to stay involved or get involved.  Persistence does pay off.  This was my fourth pursuit of a council seat.  I applied in 1994 for the vacancy created when Mayor Mark DeSaulnier was elevated to County Supervisor.  I ran in 1995 and 1997 losing, in my estimation, narrowly.  The forum on August 27th was an invaluable "focus group" for the City Council and brought forward a number of good ideas.  Pursue those ideas and stay in touch.

To me, being a Council member means being accessible.  I may not always agree with you or my new colleagues on particular issues but I DO want hear from you and understand your perspective.  That’s why in one form or another I intend to maintain this blog – as a forum for respectful discussion.

I also want to thank friends who advised me during this selection process.  It’s during a process like this that one finds true friends – ironically they all independently warned me to "Be careful what you wish for…"