Marin County, CA November 3, 1998 General
Smart Voter

Full Biography for Cynthia Murray

Candidate for
Supervisor; Marin County; District 5


This information is provided by the candidate

FAMILY ¨ Marin County resident, 20 years ¨ Novato resident, 10 years; ¨ Mother of two children: Mack and Katie;

EDUCATION ¨ Honors graduate, Rutgers University; ¨ Graduate, Environmental Forum;

BUSINESS ¨ Consultant, Community relations and economic development; ¨ Asst. Vice President, Sales and Marketing; Computer distributor; ¨ Member, Novato Chamber of Commerce

PUBLIC SECTOR ¨ Novato City Council, 1991-present; ¨ Novato City Mayor, 1993-94; ¨ Chair, Hamilton Reuse Multi-Agency Board; ¨ Commissioner, Marin Economic Commission; ¨ Past Chair, Novato Economic Commission; ¨ Commissioner, California International Trade Commission; ¨ Member, Downtown Specific Plan Steering Committee; ¨ Member, Community Development Block Grant Priority Setting Committee; ¨ Chair, Liaison Committee, Marin County Council of Mayors and Councilmembers to Marin Community Foundation; ¨ Member, Marin Emergency Radio Authority; ¨ Member, Steering Committee, Novato Business Education Roundtable; ¨ Past Chair, Olive School Site Leadership Council; ¨ Former Art Docent, Olive School; ¨ Volunteer, Fundraiser, Novato nonprofits: Novato Youth Center, Novato Human Needs Center ¨ Chair, Labor Day at Lake (benefit for Park & Rec scholarships/Outdoor Ed Docent program;) ¨ Member, Novato Historical Guild

REAL SOLUTIONS

Working for Novato since l991, Cynthia Murray has a reputation for
being a results-driven leader, able to successfuly bring diverse interest together, find common ground and deliver what the community needs and wants. She is at the forefront of solving Novato's toughest problems:

For Transportation ¨ Former Chair, Novato Public Works Advisory Board; ¨ Implemented Bond Measure F to improve major roads in Novato ¨ Introduced new bus shelters in non-residential areas to generate revenue; ¨ Eliminated 8000 projected car trips on Highway 101; ¨ Brought Marin Airporter to Novato; ¨ Supports intra-city jitney service to reduce traffic within Novato; ¨ Fighting for increased workforce housing at Hamilton to reduce traffic (50% of Marin workers live north of Novato and commute); ¨ Called for increased bus service to and from Novato by Golden Gate Transit;

For Environment ¨ Created 150 acres of open space at Hamilton; ¨ Pushing for not just preservation but restoration of 700 acres of wetlands at Hamilton; ¨ Pushing for tripling of Hamilton's wetlands through inclusion of Bel Marin Keys V, and St. Vincent's/Silveira baylands (working with California Coastal Conservancy to buy Marin Keys parcel ); ¨ Purchased and approved funding to enhance Scottsdale Marsh; ¨ Introduced and passed first smoke free ordinance in Marin County; ¨ Worked for and approved the most environmentally sensitive General Plan in Novato's history; ¨ Wrote and gained voter approval of Novato's tough 20 year Urban Growth Boundary; ¨ Led creation of 64.5 acre wildlife preserve at Black Point;

For Public Safety ¨ Increased Novato's law enforcement capabilities by 10%; ¨ Expanded onsite School Resource Officer program on school campuses; ¨ Fully funded School Crossing Guard program; ¨ Added K-9 unit; ¨ Kept Novato's crime rate one of lowest in the Bay Area;

For Economy ¨ Spearheaded Novato's downtown revitalization efforts including creation of the Downtown Specific Plan, the Theatre restoration project, the Downtown Streets and Drainage Project, 4th of July parade, retention of Farmers Market, streamlining of permits and beautification; ¨ Led effort to bring non-polluting, high-salary companies to Novato: Mindscape, Sonic Solutions, Inference, University of Phoenix among others, making Novato the CD- ROM world capitol; ¨ Introduced and passed establishment of Novato Economic Commission; ¨ Created partnership between City government and Chamber of Commerce to hire an Economic Specialist for the city; ¨ Proposed Economic Develeopment Master Plan; ¨ Led fight to improve telecommunications infrastructure in North Marin;

For Education ¨ Forged partnership between education and business to improve learning opportunities for our children through the Novato Business Education Roundtable; ¨ Served as Chair of Olive School Site council for 2 years; ¨ Created student internships and teacher externships through Marin Schools to Career project;

For Community ¨ Supported the new Novato Community Hospital, Buck Center for Research in Aging and Black Point; ¨ Led the way for mobile home rent control and mobile home park conversation; ¨ Started Labor Day at the Lake celebration; ¨ Approved coop housing funding for Novato Human Needs Center; ¨ Worked to locate North Bay Children's Center at Hamilton; ¨ Allocates Community Development Block Grants to non-profit agencies;

For Elders ¨ Improved seniors quality of life: built and furnished the Margaret Todd Senior Center; ¨ Increased funding for the Novato-Marin Independent Elders program ¨ Approved conversion of Marin Valley park to tenant ownership; ¨ Approved "Are You OK?" program to check on "at risk" seniors daily; ¨ Approved two new assisted living projects with affordable units;

For Youth ¨ Improved safe options for youth: Added 2 city pools, 2 lighted ballfields, roller hockey rink, and expanded gymnastics program; ¨ Pushed for and won skatepark approval ¨ Pushed for and won approval for Youth and Teen Activity Center; ¨ Supported Youth Curfew Ordinance to give police a tool to help "at risk" youth and protect younger children;

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 27, 1998 07:19
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