Absent a long track-record to use in assessing a candidate, one's stated approach matters.

The incumbent for this position has nearly 8 years. I believe that that record does not offer a compelling reason for a total of 12 years in office; rather, quite the contrary is the case. Concord needs a very marked change on the Council — a disrupter of the status quo who also knows how to build a consensus and get things done.

I am not seeking to make a career of this. I don’t have eyes on “higher” office, whereas my opponent has made it clear she wants to (and has) pursue that. If I don’t make a very tangible change in how city government is run and how it engages with the residents, I won’t seek another term.

I have always — across companies and roles — spoken up on matters of concern. I consistently do that, even when it’s clear that upper-management do not want to acknowledge unpopular or misguided policies/actions. At my last employer, I exposed corporate fraud to the tune of millions of dollars in wasted expenditures that were incurred to fake numbers to the FCC, stockholders, and the public. I was the most vocal in the entire corporation regarding certain unethical corporate practices. I will always stand for radical transparency, accountability, and an informed populace.

My approach is – even if I have initial directions I’m inclined towards – to energetically gather the best arguments and the most data, be honest about my lack of knowledge or experience on a particular matter, foster intense debate on the matters, be willing to change my mind upon being convinced of a better argument, and formulate a consensus on a plan of action.  If a consensus cannot be fully achieved, then – at the very least – there will be certainty that a vigorous effort was made to deliberate comprehensively and transparently, and objectives and measurements will be publicly committed to so that decision-makers can be held accountable for our actions and can know if we as a community are progressing as we’d hoped.

I will push hard for the implementation of audits of the awarding of millions in city contracts to vendors, and will seek improved safeguards for that process that has always been among the most vulnerable to misuse. I will strive to provide to the public assurances that all matters of interest — negotiation details, 3rd-party access to internal systems, financial and legal obligations incurred — are prominently presented to the residents of Concord. Any violations of reasonable expectations of privacy will be exposed. Data analysis will be implemented to a much greater extent to make the operations of government available and relatable, including trends for various aspects of the city — demographics, crime statistics by category, budgetary matters.

I have had a long and diverse career of executing complex projects and achieving tremendous results and innovations across industries, companies, hierarchies, and functional roles. I learn quickly, adapt to change, and deal well with both executives and “ground-level” workers. I have a history of building cohesive teams that align towards meeting ambitious and changing demands. I believe in front-loading the design phase of projects; which, in the realm of city government, would be more directed towards expending efforts to vigorously seek input from all viewpoints, bash ideas against each other, and reach a consensus on the overall vision and attendant objectives we have for the next 10+ years. Then, we execute the plan, ensuring that our actions and expenditures dovetail with that overall view. We fearlessly and frequently check-in on progress to accurately assess whether any course-corrections are warranted. And we communicate energetically to the public.