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711 t.,p,,,; <br />w <br />Application for AppointmenIFTv ` " 0, A'J,"r;,., <br />Ward 4 City Council Office ;!...a - <br />REASONS FOR INTEREST IN THIS POSITION <br />1. 1 am interested in serving on the Santa Ana City Council because I love our city and I <br />want to help it thrive. I have loved our city since I was a young busboy at my uncle's <br />restaurant near Downtown, Pop's Cafe. I want to take my education in urban planning <br />from USC and my professional experience in urban planning and government and give <br />back to our city. I want to help our city make the right decisions in order to provide <br />quality services to all of our residents, whether you reside in Floral Park, French Park, <br />Madison Park, Delhi, or Sandpointe. <br />2. From my point of view, the three greatest needs and challenges facing the City at this <br />time are the current condition of our Civic Center, an understaffed police department, <br />and being able to attract and manage economic resources. <br />When William Spurgeon and James McFadden helped establish Orange County, they <br />fought for Santa Ana to be the County Seat. They recognized the importance of Santa <br />Ana serving as the governmental center of OC. Unfortunately, the previous City Council <br />allowed homeless encampments to overtake the Civic Center, causing government <br />employees, jurors and visitors to fear for their safety rather than spend more time and <br />money in our city. The ability to address public safety for those in our Civic Center and <br />those throughout our city is hindered by an understaffed police department. Residents <br />and visitors alike should have confidence that the police will respond quickly and <br />professionally when called. Our city will not be able to address staffing levels at the <br />police department and other departments that provide essential city services without <br />addressing our city's economic situation. We need to attract economic resources and <br />better manage those resources in order to provide top-quality municipal services, <br />3. The greatest opportunities for the City from my perspective are being the County <br />Seat, the update of the City's General Plan, and hiring the right person to fill the vacant <br />City Manager position. <br />Economic opportunities come along with being the County Seat. Thankfully, Santa Ana <br />still retains the County Seat designation. Now that the homeless encampments have <br />been cleared, we need to make the Civic Center safe, able to attract resources, and <br />serve as a place for our community to gather. The update of the General Plan will allow <br />our city to responsibly plan for our future, This involves designating density in the <br />appropriate zones to avoid conflicts, increasing open space, enhancing historic <br />preservation, planning at the neighborhood level, and responsibly allocating resources <br />in order to provide extraordinary services for our residents. This makes the timing for <br />hiring a City Manager perfect. In addition to overseeing the completion of the General <br />Plan Update, the new City Manager can bring new ideas and motivation to implement <br />our City's goals at a time where it is greatly needed. <br />65C-51 <br />