Clayton City Council candidate questions: Glen Miller
The Concord Clayton Pioneer newspaper presented a list of questions to the candidates running for Clayton City Council in the 2020 election. To read other candidate answers, click here. For our story on all the candidates running in this race, click here.
Glenn D. Miller
Why are you running for the City Council? To provide leadership that is focused on putting Clayton’s citizens and the city of Clayton’s interest first. This means making decisions based on what benefits us locally and supports the values of our founding back in 1964, when we came together to incorporate as a city and not be swallowed up as a part of Concord. This also means that we should defend our small, semi-rural, single-family and family-oriented roots and character.
What are your professional/personal qualifications? Retired licensed civil engineer with a background in structural engineering and 20 plus years of project and construction management experience, including municipal projects of fires stations, bus headquarters and paratransit facilities, a museum remodel, city offices conversion from an old library, municipal waste and water district storage tanks and pumping stations, and as an owner’s construction representative for the construction of retail department stores (Home Depot, Food 4 Less, Mervyn’s and Orchard Supply Hardware), where I also put together the framework and managed the infrastructure construction for the future assessment districts surrounding retail developments in Redding and Chico.
How long have you been a resident? 22 years.
What other civic positions have you held? Volunteer in charge of registration for 4th of July Parade – 3 years, two terms on Planning Commission, including chair.
What experience do you have that qualifies you for the City Council? I served as project manager and then construction manager for the DeMartini Winery/City Hall Adaptive Re-use and Historic Preservation project, construction planning and construction contract coordinator for the Endeavor Hall project and was also part of the conceptual design team and estimator for the proposed preservation of Keller House. In my two terms on the Planning Commission, I was part of the committee’s efforts for the design of the downtown park and two projects where original zoning and developer pressure to build mid- to high-density projects was solved by support of a single-family home Planned Development concept (Bridlewood and Mitchell Place). Uniquely, I have had the blessed opportunity to get to know Clayton families and their kids as a volunteer serving Mt. Diablo Elementary School kindergarteners as “Mr. Miller” for the past 13 years.
Do you believe Clayton has a problem with racism that needs to be addressed? No, I believe that we are all God’s children, sometimes flawed and sometimes not perfect but all capable of respecting and providing equal opportunity to one another.
If so, how would you address the issue? Since I do not believe Clayton has a problem with racism, this response is a challenge. However, we could start by teaching and mirroring to our kids the values that I have witnessed being taught and have been a part of teaching for the past 13 years that we all have worth, have the smarts to make “good choices” (the mantra of one my favorite teachers) and we should have respect for one another, including authorities such as the police and our teachers.
The governor has made the housing crisis a No. 1 priority for the state. Cities are being mandated to provide more housing units than has been required in the past, and it’s likely yet even denser housing plans will be required in the future. How should Clayton address these mandates? Because of Clayton’s unique small size, geographical features and location, and the fact that we are, for the most part, built out, I believe we should be pushing back on these mandates and agendas on these facts alone. However, for the few future opportunities that may exist, I believe the right and tested approach is a Planned Development approach to resolve this issue as is downtown’s Mitchell Place single-family, shared side-yard development and, for the larger parcels, developments similar to either Bridlewood or Seminary Ridge.
Clayton has historically been very fiscally conservative with a limited budget. What are your spending priorities in keeping with a commitment to a balanced budget? I believe we should start with focus and an accountability that matches the completion of city services in the manner that they were intended to be provided, including all of the scope of services as enumerated in each of the various assessments that we pay for, such as landscaping, lighting, the Oakhurst Geologic Hazard Abatement District (GHAD), etc. This means ensuring we meet and accomplish the full scope of these services in all areas and the work is done within their budgets. This means there is no transfer of funds away from these items into the General Fund. Secondly, we should prioritize public safety and quality of life when we are allocating funds.
What do you see as the single biggest challenge for the city going into 2021? The restoration of the vision of the founders of Clayton as a self-controlled Clayton First Community and as a small-town, single-family and family-oriented community.
What is your vision for Clayton in the next four years? Long term? My goal long term would be to realize and achieve the vision of Clayton’s self-reliance, self-determination and fiscally responsible governance. I would also like to see that we are in a position to assure that all future growth is done in a Planned Development manner that echoes this vision.
What role will you play in realizing that vision? I will steadfastly stand against any imposed housing mandates and work on ways to circumvent while still allowing development that is responsible and preserves Clayton’s character. I will also be a vocal advocate for our police and seek ways to partner to see to it that they receive the respect they deserve. Finally, I will seek innovative ways to fund and improve the downtown parcel across the street from the bocce courts with the ultimate goal of turning it into a public use area that has the infrastructure to facilitate events like our popular festivals and farmers market.