Friday, April 21, 2017

Leah Gold

For the upcoming city council election in Healdsburg, I support Leah Gold. This is unlikely to make a difference, given that my friends already support Gold and my wife and I no longer live in town. (We do live nearby.)

Gold, a former mayor, faces strong competition from a Republican real estate/property management agent. She is, in some ways, his opposite. Gold led a campaign in 1996 to encircle Healdsburg with a growth boundary. That boundary helped make the town unique, a compact island of people protected by a sea of green, set off like Brigadoon. 

One of the things that I like about Gold is that she gives serious thought to the shape of the town. In my experience the city council tends to think in terms of real estate development without considering how some kinds of development alter the town’s diversity and tone. Gold wants to preserve what makes the town different. She’s an environmental progressive, and, in trying to keep Healdsburg from becoming a Carmel-like destination, populated with giant, empty, second homes, she’s interested in conserving a healthy past (in my view).  Gold supports raising money to build affordable housing, needed to retain the town’s young people and workers. Gold is in step with most local voters, particularly when it comes to housing policies. She’s the right woman for the job.


Or you can vote for a Republican real estate/property management agent. 

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