Weinsoff

My environmental practice centers on the representation of public interest environmental organizations generally run on a shoe-string by a dedicated group of volunteers. In the absence of public prosecution, their near-herculean efforts are more times than not the only impediment to a polluter never being called to account for its actions. While many groups have so-called "nonprofit status" and are designed to address ongoing environmental issues, many are less formally organized and are established by neighbors to focus on single-issue concerns.

I think both types of volunteer organizations are critical allies of the Town in its efforts to address important community issues. As I mention elsewhere in this Survey, constraints on the Town budget require that we look to community groups to assist Town staff in their efforts to provide us with the most effective services. Volunteer groups, however, should work to be broad-based in their membership. Groups incorporating ideas from residents with diverse perspectives will recommend the best solutions - and ones the community will work hard to implement.

Tremaine

I am a regular participant in the activities of the Volunteers for Fairfax, including working on the recent Peri Park improvements and creek clean-ups. I helped create the Fairfax Juvenile Diversion Program. I helped found the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce. I helped found Sustainable Fairfax. I am a past president of the Social Justice Center of Marin. I am the past chair of the Fairfax San Anselmo Greens. I am an employee of FamilyWorks, a non-profit organization that has worked to build community and strengthens families for 25 years. I co-produce Film Night in the Park. I served as Director of the Fairfax Youth Center for 3 years and held the weekly Teen Night at the Pavilion during the same time.

Hailer

I live on a street that takes care of its own and we make a point of getting to know our neighbors and helping each other with home projects and various neighborhood endeavors. I've volunteered at my daughters' schools and have served the public through my position on the Planning Commission. My family donates to the Yes Foundation, Safe Routes to Schools and the Canal Community Alliance. Each year, I incorporate Marin's Breast Cancer study into my statistics classes and will be participating in the November 8 th Search for the Cause Campaign sponsored by Marin Cancer Project.

I want to help Fairfax develop a Rec. Center along the lines of what San Anselmo has created and believe that the Pavilion and our recreational facilities are currently underutilized. I want to see more sports, art and music programs available to our youth. On the Council, I want to work with Sustainable Fairfax to promote the group and promote public education around the many issues raised in this survey. I'm an advocate of neighborhood groups and would make myself available to their spokespersons.

Bragman

Over the last two years, I have been an active participant and organizer for the Walk in the Park Players, a community based group of local artists which presented Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in Peri Park. These productions involved many local residents as actors, technicians and promotional assistance. We also have employed many local youth as actors. These young people have formed an integral part of the group and it has been an amazing experience to mentor their social and technical skills. The proceeds of these productions were donated to the Ophelia Fund which has been administered through my office. Last year the Ophelia fund was primarily used to assist a local at risk youth. This year, half the proceeds were donated to Mines to Vines, a de-mining project in Afghanistan. The other half is being distributed as local youth enrichment program scholarships to help young people finance extracurricular programs for sports, arts, and self-help.

Over the next four years, I would like to see "A Midsummer Night's Dream" or other major production on an annual basis. I believe that community based theater and arts programs are incredibly enriching for the community as well as building lasting community among the participants. I would like to see Fairfax establish an Arts Commission to work with the Parks and Recreation Department in order to encourage youth programs and classes and to involve elders as well. In this regard, I believe that it is very important that the Fairfax Pavilion be developed as a multi-use facility in order to provide a suitable place for community arts and learning. We need to concentrate on cultivating the cultural infrastructure of our Town to ensure a healthy and engaged community. We also need to implement a disaster preparedness plan in order to organize the community in case of a major fire or earthquake, The special needs of particular of each resident can be logged by fire department or other appropriate agency. Again, a workable Town internet site would provide convenient access for the paperwork and correspondence with the agency. To the extent that disaster preparedness raises community consciousness about our environment and the special needs of their neighbors, it will also help build community.

Prum

Community is extremely important to me. It is the primary reason I live in Fairfax. To me, community is a society of people who take care of each other, whether during good times or bad. Fairfax is an amazing community full of caring and helpful people. As an example, when a friend's child got hit by a car while riding his bike, the community came up with over $2,000 to help their family. On top of that, my friend joked that our community's emotional support was so overwhelming that she was going to have to use that money to get plastic surgery so she could walk through downtown in under an hour! That is a successful community.