Day 8 Laura Parmer-Lohan

Today’s featured woman is Laura Parmer-Lohan. Laura is a working mom, small business owner and is running for San Carlos City Council. I had the opportunity to work with her through my role as Production Chairman for the 2016 Chickens’ Ball.

Laura auditioned for the role of Emcee – and stayed in ‘character’ from her entrance to her exit. I am sure if it had been me, I would have cracked up halfway through my audition, just from the looks on the faces of the choreographers and everyone else in the room.

Laura and I, along with the Asst. Production Chair, Julie Lanesey, collaborated and worked hard to come up with a cohesive script based upon a character Laura had created and cultivated. And of course, Laura knocked it out of the park as the Emcee.

Laura founded a consulting firm that helps her clients provide innovative solutions to hospitals and physicians. Her latest endeavor is running for the San Carlos City Council. Now, I’ve run for office several times and could have told her what she was getting into, but Laura was not going to listen or be deterred from her desire to serve and give back. Laura decided to run for office because she was so concerned with the degradation of public discourse and wants to foster a more civil conversation.

For those who can vote in this San Carlos election — I want to highlight a few things that Laura is concerned with because I believe in the good that she is doing and the good she will do as an elected member of our Government (and because I can — it’s my blog).

Laura wants San Carlos to be the City of Good Living for all residents, regardless of their age or income level. Her campaign theme is “Leading by Listening” because it appears to her that there are many speaking and not as many listening and understanding. Her approach to problem solving is that with mutual respect and understanding, disagreements can be suspended while areas of agreement found.

Our San Carlos community is undergoing a major transition as the thriving tech economy is driving increased employment, skyrocketing housing prices, and causing increased costs for commercial space; all of which are making our San Carlos residents concerned with traffic, congestion, lack of parking, and development that appears to be done without consideration for preservation of our small town charm. Teachers, first responders, civil servants, and service workers cannot afford to live in our community. The lack of workforce housing is putting our infrastructure at risk.

Laura intends to address these challenges through open dialogue among all stakeholders to:
• Preserve our civic personality by carefully assessing proposed growth opportunities
• Encourage community dialog and initiate collaborative public and private partnerships
• Increase workforce housing stocks and improve access to public transportation
• Help our schools stay strong and well-staffed
• Drive government efficiency and accountability by encouraging results-based budgeting
• Maintain our neighborhood infrastructure.
• Protect and enhance our parks and open spaces
• Work with our police, fire and other first-responders to ensure public safety
• Increase child care capacity and promote early childhood development
• Address traffic and congestion issues with local and regional groups

In short, Laura intends to work as a City Council member just as she worked with me and Julie – collaboratively and with the end goal in mind. Laura and her extensive team of supporters (make sure to check out the fabulous pictures of a few the more notable supporters) have been working tirelessly to get Laura elected and I am definitely voting for her come Nov. 6th.