I Am Leaving The Race But Not The Cause

Many of you already know that I have withdrawn my candidacy for Arcata City Council. It was a sudden but not an easy decision to make. I consulted with many close friends and allies about it, and, in the end it was the right decision in order to best champion my ideas such as Round Up for Arcata, the car lending library and the economic revitalization of Arcata through environmental technology, which should have started years ago.

Those candidates who have a better chance of winning know my position and know that I have a growing enthusiastic group of supporters who want to see Arcata enter the 21st century of environmental innovation and take advantage of all of the economic prospects of alternate energy. Just today [11/4/06] there is an article ("Alternative Energy Lighting Up") in the SF Chronicle about venture capital companies funding alternate fuel starts ups. Those start ups should be here in Arcata near HSU and the Schatz Energy Research Center. I am convinced some of these companies, even though sponsored by Bay Area money people, would set up shop here had they known about our little secret of HSU and the Schatz facility. We can't let this opportunity slip away.

My only regret about leaving the race is that people will believe the two polls that placed me at the top of the second tier of candidates at around 5% of the votes. That number is very deceiving. I strongly believe had I stayed in the race I'd hit double digits, albeit, low double digits. Clearly there was last minute momentum gathering, particularly among the younger voters of Arcata. Had there been a month to go before the election and had I chosen to raise money to get the message out I would have stayed in the race. But this was my first run at it and I learned a lot about how to campaign. These lessons will apply should I run again in two years.

I promise you all I will run in two years if it looks like the Arcata City Council makes no progress toward the vital economy of conservation and alternate energy. The next time I will run as a more experienced candidate and will energize the majority of the voters who care about the future of Arcata, and wrestle from the old time voters who want to preserve their comfortable way of life at the expense of the younger generation. I have an 18-month old daughter to think about and want to leave her a vibrant, progressive and environmentally forward acting city.

There are other older voters who think that way as well, including Dave Meserve, which is why I ask you to support him. Vote for Dave Meserve. The jury is still out on Alex and how forward thinking she is. I lend my support to her because I think she is open minded and willing to listen, and, if she comes around she can get it done. She also has grandchildren she cares about who'll inherit our city. If she does come around, she'll have the ability to work with Dave to get it done. The two of them complement each other. My job now is to keep on top of the new city council and let them know I'll be back if things don't move forward.

Thank you all so much for your kind words, criticism and support. Get out and vote!

Jeffrey Schwartz

The Round Up For Arcata Fund

Under Round Up For Arcata every Arcatan as well as visitors to our town will have the opportunity to round up their bills, fees, and any purchases they make in Arcata to the next dollar. The money would go into a special city fund to be used for specific Arcata projects such as the City Car Share Lending library, zero-emission shuttle service, affordable housing, and the funding of environmental startups incubated at HSU. It could go to a new Arcata child care center, fixing a pothole or bikelane or a police substation at Valley West. The idea is to build a flexible fund for things that in the end benefit all residents of our town by making it a better place to live. Think of Round Up for Arcata as your rich uncle. You don't expect him to give you regular handouts but when you need him, he is there.

Here is how it would work. Every business and city department will be expected to ask their customers if they want to "Round Up for Arcata." For example, if you have a $23.47 bill, the merchant or clerk will ask you if you would like to "Round Up For Arcata" and pay $24.00. All the money collected would be put into a special fund. The farmer's markets and artisans will be asked to provide a fund jar that will be collected at the end of the event. Even contractors to the city will be asked to round down their bills, but pay the difference into the Round Up fund; and it would be the same with our water bills, phone bills, garbage bills and so on.

It's voluntary but I believe most Arcatans will participate and many others will as well. On the individual level it means just pennies per purchase, but together it would add up to perhaps the biggest single revenue source for Arcata.

The New Economy

A New York Times editorial last week said more concisely what I've been saying since I declared my candidacy for Arcata City Council: "...there is a vital new economy to be found in conservation, and that is where the future lies."Arcata along with HSU has a small window of opportunity to seize this new economy and become a leading center of environmental innovation and implementation. But we must start now, we cannot wait any longer. If we do wait, then some other city/university town will snatch it from us.Arcata is uniquely qualified to take the prize on this one if we form a new wholly different partnership with HSU.

The school is already up and running with a perfect environmental mindset and academic programs to accommodate the new economy. HSU already has all of the departments necessary to nurture and train and educate the students who will become the entrepreneurs, inventors, researchers and perhaps the next Noble Prize winners in the new economy-- conservation and alternate energy. HSU will train the students and Arcata will make sure the students stay in our community because we will help them start their businesses, incubate their ideas for alternative energy and provide them a supportive environment to work on the next environmental breakthrough.

This is how I see Arcata in the near future if we seize the moment. Look what is happening in other industries in other college towns. Many of you heard me use the analogy, "what Silicon Valley is to microchips, Arcata can be to environmental technology."Let me give you some real examples of what other cities have done because of their direct involvement with their academic institutions.

We know about Stanford and Silicon Valley.

The University of California at San Francisco nurtured biomedical technology. Not only is the 3 billion-dollar funded stem cell research center headquartered in San Francisco, but there are dozens, if not more, start-up companies run by former students and researchers who are trying to cure cancer. They all have offices and staff and a lot of research money brought in from the outside that stays in San Francisco.

Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo is the closest example of what Arcata and HSU can do. The school focuses on engineering and agriculture. Cal Poly researchers literally turned the jug wine grape industry into dozens of first-class wine appellations with their research on growing a better grape. That happened in less than ten years. There are dozens of former students who started small companies throughout the city and surrounding areas based on finding even better ways to grow grapes.Then there is the business of bio-pest control.

The Ag students and their professors and researchers have been working on finding bugs that eat bugs that eat crops. Like the startups trying to find the cure for cancer, there are again many start up companies trying to find the perfect bug that will eat the bugs that eat the crops. Most will not find the cure-all for substituting toxic poisons with bug eating bugs, but with everyone working and sharing their findings, they will someday. Again, money stays in the city and comes to the city from research grants and established companies with a stake in protecting crops naturally.

And, in a more mundane observation, the school of engineering pumps out hundreds of students who stay in San Luis Obispo to start up architecture and engineering firms.

By the way, did you know Cal Poly, a state univeristy, is a go to school for agriculture and engineering? Students want to go to Cal Poly because of its reputation in those disciplines. We need to get students to want to go to HSU for environmental technology and environmental business. HSU needs to build its reputation.

There is no reason whatsoever why Arcata and HSU can't do the same thing with the new economy of environmental innovation. It would take a little tweaking of the curriculum at the school and a whole lot of public relations to let students know that HSU will train you in a curriculum that is the true future where there will always be a good and lucrative job in a socially responsible field.

It's time that HSU stop looking in the nooks and crannies all around the country trying to lure only die hard environmentalists to come to HSU, (which is their current recruitment strategy). That strategy was fine 20 years ago when the only people who cared about the environment were environmentalists. Now everyone cares about the environment whether they like it or not. Brilliant innovative students, even if they don't yet care much about the environment, will care when they realize they can make a career out of it. When they see which way the wind is blowing they will come to HSU.

We promote this, and "we" means Arcata and HSU, with a theme such as, "Do you want to become the next CEO of an oil company or the next CEO of an alternative energy company? Where do you think the future lies?" Then we say something like you go to school here and come up with some good ideas or promising research on alternative energy and conservation and we'll set you up so you can continue your research right here in Arcata.

Now back to tweaking HSU curriculum. The environmental professors and departments are already here. That is a huge advantage over any other university town. But, we must insist that HSU modify the classes in the various departments to reflect the new economy. And this does not just apply to the environmental departments; it should apply immediately to the business school.

Why would someone go to HSU business school and take basic business courses that he or she can take at another school close by? What's the lure? But, if the business school focused on the new economy, the environment, that is the hook that will cause students around the country and world to want to go to the HSU business school. They will be trained and educated in the new economy. Like it or not the most socially responsible product in the entire world won't get off the ground without business acumen.

The same goes with other departments, one comes to mind, journalism. The journalism department should start developing environmental journalism classes of all kinds to lure students to the school. One of the biggest events the journalism department has ever had was the presentation by two National Geographic environmental journalists showing their slides from a trip across Africa.

We have niche and we must not lose this opportunity. If we start narrow mindedly thinking, "back to basics" and limit ourselves to fixing pot holes (fixing pot holes is easy by the way, think “Round Up for Arcata”) and continue to reminisce about the 1980s, we'll miss the boat and ten years from now everyone will be ten years older with a lot more grey, and all of the students and children will be someplace else.

We can't wait any longer. In order to do this it takes a city council with a fresh perspective and an understanding and respect for the vital new economy that is our future.

Homelessness and the Plaza

I go to the Plaza often with my wife and baby girl. It's a beautiful place, but sometimes we don't feel comfortable there because of the activity of some of the people who hang out there.If people are not doing anything illegal, even if they are unkempt, they should be left alone. I don't want to live in a society where police can tell people to leave a public square just because other people don't like the way they dress, or don't like the way they wear their hair. I don't want a Stepford Plaza.

We need to have a police officer assigned specifically to the Plaza who can get to know the people out there and work with them. Getting to know the people will help the officer make sure that criminals on the Plaza don't stay on the Plaza. Also we need to give the officer more choices when he or she confronts a person violating the Plaza rules. If someone is smoking or drinking, the officer does not have to immediately ticket them or arrest them but talk with them -- like the old time beat cop. The officer can give them a chance to follow the rules or help them get to my proposed Integrated Shelter for Integrated Services (ISIS) -- a one-stop service center where all of the services necessary to help the homeless person will be at one location. (See below)

Tolerance is important for people who have many other more serious problems. The ISIS Center would take care of most of those problems. But at some point if repeated Plaza violations continue the officer will have to resort to more stringent alternatives. We have to be tolerant, but I don't think people should flaunt laws we set up in order to protect public spaces that we make comfortable for everbody to be able to enjoy. At some point a repeat offender cannot continue to smoke cigarettes or marijuana in a public place where smoking is not permitted, drink alcohol in a public place where alcohol is not permitted, or buy and sell drugs, undress or urinate in a park where families gather and children play.

Direct action with the Plaza is only one part of our homeless problem in Arcata. We also need long term solutions that help people get shelter and the services they need.

Let's first acknowledge that most homeless people are not homeless by choice. Studies show that many are addicted to alcohol and/or other drugs and many are mentally ill. Many lack any job skills and this county lacks entry level jobs that pay a decent wage.A civilized society takes care of its downtrodden. But here, our federal government is not doing that, our state government is not doing that and our county isn't doing that. That means that if we want something done Arcata has to find its own solutions.

We need a multifaceted facility that will integrate the services that in part are being offered by non-profit organizations, the city and the county. I envision a place that offers transitional housing, mental health counseling, twelve-step programs, and vocational and job placement programs, a respite for those without a home, a place to congregate. We might call it ISIS--Interagency Shelter for Integrated Services.

We want to help people who are ill get the treatment they need and if possible reconnect them to their families.San Francisco has a program called "Care Not Cash" that was very controversial in the beginning, but which most residents of that city would acknowledge as highly successful. There the city eliminated the $355.00 a month general asssitance payment to the poor, and gave them instead $51 a month along with housing and other suport services.

The program reduced homelessness in the city in half almost overnight because many of the people left to look for a city that would pay the money instead of the services.Arcata can't control what Humboldt County does but we can try to shape policy. I suggest that the City Council urge the county to look to a care not cash program as well.

We need to get our homeless people the shelter and treatment they need, and we can find the money to do that. We need to take away any incentives that encourage criminal elements to come to our city and linger here and to take advantage of programs intended to help the disadvantaged and needy. We want to help the people who want to be helped. We want to leave alone the people who cause no trouble. And we want to deal with the people who refuse help when its offered and who break laws intended to keep the city a safe and enjoyable place in which to live.

We need to think creatively and act decisively

Habitat For Arcata

A friend who works in Arcata and makes what many consider a fair salary is frustrated that she cannot afford a house in Arcata. I don't see any reason why Arcata can't provide housing for its working people.I would like to encourage the building of multifamily homes close to the Plaza that could be sold as tenants-in-common units -- two to three flats per house, built on small lots -- for an affordable price to working people.

Each building would have a private garden in the back. In some cases a block of houses would be built with a shared, semiprivate garden. To discourage cars, and to be able to build more of these houses and keep the prices down, they would not come with garages or parking spots for cars. Ideally, you would not need parking because you could walk, bike or shuttle to the Plaza and university. If you need a car or truck you could borrow a vehicle from my proposed City Car Share program. (See separate post)

Throughout Arcata there are vacant lots and abandoned industrial property perfect for housing. We need to provide housing for our working folks.It can be done. Arcata will find the money from redevelopment funds, to county funds, to private funds. I know that with creative thinking and decisive action we can implement this program and help people to be able to both own a place here and work in this town.

Arcata City Car Share The Car Lending Library

I am learning a lot as I go through this campaign. The one criticism I get is that I am fairly new to Arcata and "what do I know." What I know is that being new to the community allows me to bring a fresh perspective to Arcata and to bring creative and innovative ideas to Arcata that have already been in practice elsewhere. San Francisco, Santa Monica and Berkeley, Toronto and elsewhere, have many programs we should be looking at.In San Francisco, residents and workers can check out cars from city garages to use when they need a car.

This program has drastically reduced the amount of cars and pollution in the city. Arcata is perfect to do the same but better. Arcata's program would include residents, workers and students and an inventory of zero or near-zero emission cars and light trucks. With this program we would remove thousands of vehicles from our streets because people will ditch their cars as unnecessary and save on insurance, maintenance and car payments.

You need to go to Target in Eureka or a weekend trip home? You check out a car. You need to pick up furniture or a bed? You check out a light truck. People will get rid of their cars if they can rely on the City to provide them with one when they need it. Good for the environment every which way. What does it cost? Always sliding scale with me. But, to give you an example, San Francisco charges $4.00 per hour and half that after 10 p.m. There is also a monthly fee around $35.00.

This program is a perfect fit when we revamp the seventies style public transportation system and replace it with a free zero or near-emission public shuttle service running every five to ten minutes and accessible by text messaging, cell phones, computers or just simply flagging it down.

What does it cost? Always a sliding scale with me. But, to give you an example San Francisco charges $4 an hour and half that after 10 p.m. There is a small monthly fee as well.