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Name: Rebecca Flynn
Age: 59
Occupation:Â Community Volunteer and Digital Media Consultant
Year residing in the district or city: Since 2000 (briefly resided in PV from ~1990-1992)
Key endorsements: Over 175 residents including many current and former mayors, Town Council members, commission members, and committee members and San Mateo County Superintendent Ray Mueller. List available on her website.
Campaign website: rebeccaforpv.wixsite.com/2024
Questions:
1. What makes you the best candidate and what relevant experience do you bring?Â
I’m running for town council because I care deeply about Portola Valley and want to play a more active role in shaping its future with practical solutions. Having lived here for nearly 25 years, founded and moderated the PVForum for 20 years, and volunteered with the Sustainability Committee, the Architectural and Site Control Commission, and many other local organizations, I’m very familiar with the diversity of views in our small town. With my advanced degrees, my analytical and scientific background, my experience moderating the PVForum to ensure respectful behavior, and my work on sustainability policy and zoning amendments, I believe I can bring valuable insights to the council. My goal is to work collaboratively with fellow council members, residents, and town staff to make sure our town has a stable financial future, a respectful and transparent culture, and a sustainable and safe future for current and future residents.
2. What are your top three priorities as a council member?
- Foster a culture of respect, fact-based decision making, and openness while rebuilding and supporting our town staff.
- Secure our finances to ensure the continued viability and success of our town. My fellow residents need to realize that this is not business as usual. The town’s continued independence faces an existential threat. We must pass a revenue enhancement ballot measure in a special election in March 2025 ( for a real property transfer tax or a parcel tax) as well as engage in belt-tightening and better controls.
- Promote a sustainable future for our town by prioritizing the well-being and safety of our current and future residents and the stewardship of our natural environment while building the required affordable housing units in Town.
3. The town has experienced a high turnover of staff over the last year. How can the council support the efforts to efficiently rebuild a strong town administration?
- Ensure the Town Council, with input from the community, clearly defines the requirements for a new town manager and hires an experienced person with strong interpersonal skills and a passion for community engagement.
- Establish clear processes for committees, residents, and commissions for engagement with the town staff to increase information availability.
- Support the town staff by leading with thoughtfulness, showing respect for their expertise, and celebrating their successes by publicizing them to the community.
- Evaluating salary levels to ensure they are within the appropriate range for our town size and experience levels
4. How can the town develop stronger relationships with its residents and community members?
By providing more information to people. I founded the PVForum to do just that twenty years ago and it has been a success in bringing residents together and providing updates on local issues. The town needs to keep regularly updating residents, putting information on the website, and continuing to encourage people to volunteer for our committees so that Portola Valley can capitalize on the expertise of our residents.
5. What does the town currently struggle with?
- A structural operating deficit that threatens Portola Valley’s existence as an independent town. We need to finish the good work that has been started over the past year to get our financial operations in order and immediately plan for a revenue enhancement ballot measure in a special election in March 2025.
- A mostly interim town staff and the need to implement municipal best practices for oversight, update due diligence procedures with clear delineation of responsibilities, and establish defined communication channels at all levels of town government, so that efficiency, accountability, and service delivery no longer impact residents.
- Building a wider variety of housing types and affordability ranges in the safer areas of town as mandated by the state and move the projects forward with the residents’ support as soon as possible so that we don’t risk State fines, lawsuits or the loss our local land use authority.
6. Financial audits are currently being conducted, but residents have expressed their disapproval for the lack of transparency on the town’s budget. What can be done to get the town’s finances in order for the next fiscal years?
Yes, I have heard this concern. This past year there has been a complete turnaround in the finance department with the hiring of a completely new financial team. They are working extremely hard to bring our town finances back into order. I trust the new team that has been put in place. Major strides are being made towards improvement in processes as well as untangling and updating the records. The staff is updating Town Council twice a month and we now have more engagement from the Finance Committee to support the team and the new processes. There is still significant work to be accomplished so that we have clearer view of our financial situation.
The latest information this week from the Finance Department details the extent to which our expenses have outpaced our revenues and eaten into our reserves. We must now move forward quickly with a revenue enhancement ballot measure as well as control our expenses. The housing element process has severely burdened our finances. Lawsuits from residents, excessive consultant use, replacing our staff, and the updated sheriff’s contract have all caused a major increase in expenditures. The expenses must be brought under control with better oversight.
7. The Planning Commission and Architectural & Site Control Commission have records of frequently canceling meetings. How can the town make volunteer-based committees more accountable? Should it?
As a person who serves on the ASCC, I can assure you that the issue is not Town volunteers lacking accountability. Town volunteers actually put in enormous amounts of their personal time into their unpaid positions and are quite dedicated in their efforts. The commissions are not involved in scheduling or cancelling meetings. The Planning Department sets the meetings and schedules based on project status. Maybe those who have not been involved in volunteering in Portola Valley are not aware of how the Town works.
With the staffing resignations and personnel changeovers, some projects may not have been ready for presentation to the relevant commission in a timely manner. The Architectural and Site Control Commission has requested to see applications at an earlier stage, before all the engineering and other expensive consultants get involved, so that plans can move forward more rapidly with less cost for applicants.
8. How can the town preserve its small town characteristics? Should it?
Yes, the town should preserve its small-town characteristics. Portola Valley was founded on the principles of environmental stewardship, efficient governance, and strong community spirit. This culture is still alive in Portola Valley. The achievements in preserving our natural surroundings, in making our homes subservient to nature, in volunteering, and in running an efficient government have survived for the past 60 years. The natural surroundings, open space and trails of Portola Valley serve as the lungs and the outdoor recreation areas for the entire Peninsula and need to be protected. I’m committed to preserving the special qualities of our town while working hard to find the solutions we need to create a welcoming environment for all residents, existing and future. With care and attention, some additional, more affordable housing can be built on the safer areas of town in a manner that fits in with the Portola Valley principles. Portola Valley needs to have a strong presence in regional government to ensure excessive and unsafe housing quotas are not assigned to our environmentally sensitive area in the future.
