Survey responses on the subject of Diversity political, cultural and economic. Charles McGlashan I believe that diversity makes communities stronger. People are not given equal access to services, education, opportunity, healthcare, or leadership and it falls to government to remedy this inequity. Actions & Accomplishments Worked on the Equity Chapter of the new General Plan, in which I wrote several recommendations for the empowerment of additional community members from under served and under represented communities. Promoted mentoring in civic leadership, moving arts and culture out into the numerous County facilities in community centers (rather than trying to force people to drive to the Marin Center for all cultural events), and building partnerships for the support of ethnic small business. Teach the connection between access to resources and sustainability and environmental protection in my work on The Natural Step. Teach this course annually for the Environmental Forum of Marin. Active in environmental justice with respect to San Joaquin Valley air quality in the Clean Air Dialogue working group, as part of my job at CED. Plans Will work hard to improve civic connections between the Board of Supervisors and all communities. Will get out to local groups and communities and invite participation and work on County projects, task forces and events. Will help communities showcase their local culture and arts. Will utilize County facilities more for local culture and sharing. Community arts and leadership experiences brought out from the Civic Center into our County facilities in our neighborhoods would help bring diversity and civic engagement into the public realm. Parks and community events would help build community. Andrew Thompson When I first ran for political office, I brought together all the homeowner associations in Tiburon together to encourage community participation in the political system in a structured way. My motto was that we needed to "Build Tiburon's agenda from the bottom up, not the top down." This was extremely successful, and we still hold our homeowner summits twice a year. That reflects my approach to diversity: inclusion. In my 11 years in city government, it's become clear to me that the best solutions are those that involve the broadest community input. My decision to not to accept special interest money reflects my conviction that all points of view must be recognized in solving community problems successfully. One of the statements I've used repeatedly in talking to citizens about why I'm involved in politics is that "the success of our democracy is dependent upon the quality of our participation." The quality of that participation depends on diversity, inclusion, and exchange of ideas.
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