Championship Leadership

December 25, 2019

Championship Result-Oriented Leadership cannot be taught. It is learned and forged daily by the willing and the able. Those who chose to step up and serve can develop the skill sets necessary to become a Leader but not every potential leader can meet the mark . Our City has had a great history of leaders like Rick Wykoff, Charlie Bronitsky, and Kevin Miller. These men led and mentored their colleagues and staff with a strong sense of purpose and ethics. Their vision created many successes of which benefits we all currently reap, including but not limited to a Consolidated Fire Department, Fully Funded Levee Project, Restricted Capital Assets Fund, Completed Master Park System, Record General Fund Reserve, Record Budget Surpluses, and General Best Practices for Fiscal Responsibility. As an elected official, I am proud to have been part of that success and its continuity into this current year. 

I am proud to share and celebrate with you that we have a record 92 million dollars in our General Fund Reserve with a year to date budget surplus of 6.6 million dollars! We did this by being fiscally sound and not raiding the bank for superfluous projects and whim. This number is in sharp contrast to the starting balance eight years earlier: an anemic 11 million dollar with a project deficit of 3.5 million dollars. Success is measured in Championship Leadership and Results. Let’s celebrate our community’s success and continue the prudent management of past councils. 

Over the past years, we have identified challenges in every area of the City including staff. We have quietly addressed these and corrected course in terms of best practices and best hires. I have had the good fortune to participate in the hiring of two excellent City Managers, two Fire Chiefs, and three Police Chiefs. Our elected have aways chosen the best qualified for these positions and supported the decision of our City Managers for his direct hires. Simply stated, it is a product of team work. Elected provide policy direction and then empower our City Manager to set the course and row the boat.

I am proud to have championed building active mission critical department plans that were created by past City Manager Kevin Miller and continued by our current Manager Jeff Moneda. This is not to say we are finished, in fact we will never be finished.  It is a Sisyphean task of constant monitoring with perpetual adjustment. It is time to modernize our Park and Recreation department responsibilities and integrate areas into other departments with better efficiencies. This is one example of the yearly considerations for improved service that build a better quality of life.

Foster City continues to give back to all of us who are fortunate to live here. Many years ago, my family, like you, chose to live here and we doubled down. We decided to buy a house here, invest in our community, open and run several businesses here, and serve in a variety of ways including philanthropy and public service. We now have expanded that philosophy of success to other surrounding communities.

This past month, I continued my yearly tradition of reading for the College Park Elementary School third graders. This year was even more special because I was asked to speak about internet trolls and bullies, as well as the life skills of ethics and perseverance. These topics are more timely than ever considering the state of our nation and our small little corner of the world. 

Leadership is the ability to inspire others to be better than they thought they could be. It is the ability to bring clarity of vision with a purpose of forethought. It is strength in character based upon a historical knowledge of success in action and thought. It is uncompromising and does not equivocate to the winds of political opinion and situational ethics. It is firm and bound in ethics, not opportunism. 

Over the years, I have been unwilling to compromise my integrity for political or financial gain. I have tackled the difficult and challenging issues others shy away from. I have held staff and my colleagues to higher and the highest standards. Public service is not a gift; it is a calling. 

What the young students I have taught for the past forty-three years have learned is integrity lasts a lifetime. Actions speak louder than words. Hold yourself to higher standards even if others can’t, won’t, or don’t. The path to success is based upon preparation, education, implementation, and activation. When the Goal is more important than the method, you have lost. 

Everyday we all serve as role models for our children and others. The flowers we plant soak up the sun we shine or the darkness we create. I will continue to be the light and not be the darkness others have cast. Join me and my family this Holiday season and celebrate the Light and Success of 2019 as we usher in 2020. Happy Holidays to all!