Candidate for
Councilmember; City of Pacific Grove

Name: Jeffrey Flathers Home Address: 871 Bayview Avenue, Pacific Grove, CA 93950 DOB: 02/02/1966 Email address: flazmatic@yahoo.com Home phone: (831) 375-3295 Work phone: (831) 899-7010 Cell: (831) 402-0060 Office you seek: Pacific Grove City Councilmember

Explain your qualifications for this position: (up to 50 words)

I am honest and forthright, and that is what we need in Pacific Grove. I draw upon an enormous set of life experiences, and creatively solve problems. I am the quickest and most energetic of all the candidates for the Council and offer hope for a new leadership generation.

What are the main challenges the city faces and how would you address them? (up to 150 words)

Pacific Grove's budget stands menaced by a $2.1 million 2004-2005 budget deficit. I will spearhead a drive to have the city manager renegotiate cuts in employee salaries and benefits, subject to collective bargaining. We must eliminate duplicative positions (e.g. five building inspectors, and four management layers in the PG Fire Department) and waste. The Sewer System Asset Management Plan was severely underfunded in the current budget and sewage spills off Lover's Point still occur too frequently. I propose to rebuild our decrepit infrastructure. 20%, or 12 miles of our sewers received an "F" or "D" in the SSAMP, and the current council has put little effort into repairs. The longer we delay the $50 million required to revamp the system, the more costly it will become.

What groups have endorsed your campaign?

Dozens of individuals have called me after my writeup in the Pacific Grove Hometown Bulletin. Many have volunteered to go door to door for my campaign. I expect all the public employee unions to oppose strongly my campaign, because I have been truthful about how we must balance the budget. Whether or not I am elected, the next council must lay off about 20 public employees in order to balance the budget. I will not actively seek the support of any special interest groups in my campaign, only that of the voters of Pacific Grove.

Work experience:

I am currently in my fifth year as a 4th grade teacher at Del Rey Woods School in Seaside (M.P.U.S.D). My main motivation to become a teacher was, and is, my strong desire to see that the next generation of children in our schools gains the general and specific training they will need to keep California strong. My campaign for city council demonstrates, to my students and others, that one can make a positive difference in local governance if one sticks to and supports the truth unabashedly.

Prior to becoming a teacher, I served two years as the business administrator of the Salvation Army of the Monterey Peninsula, a local nonprofit with a $2.3 million annual budget and 55 employees. In this role, I made management decisions, much like those faced by the PG City Manager and Council. My background in balancing budgets, projecting revenues and expenses, employee relations, and financial management of a complex organization, gives me applicable experience to become an effective councilmember.

From 1995 through 1998 I worked as a financial analyst and media consultant at Paul Kagan Associates in Carmel, California. There I studied the financial statements of large companies, wrote investor newsletters and databooks on cable TV networks, TV stations, newspapers, and media mergers and acquisitions. That training allowed me to discover problems with Pacific Grove's city finances that are not obvious to untrained eyes.

For the past several years I have invested in and re-modeled several houses in the Central Valley. As a landlord and property manager, I have gained insights into practical aspects of business, and have done much to improve my tenants lives by improving and upgrading their homes. This practical business experience gives me an appreciation for the difficulties businesses face, and will consequently allow me to communicate more effectively with PG's business community.

Public service experience:

From 2000-2004 I have taught at Del Rey Woods Elementary School. I instituted a chess club at the school, guided groups of students to 5th grade science camp at Mt. Hermon, and represented DRW in an Eisenhower Grant program to reinvigorate the MPUSD science curriculum.

From 2002-2004, I served as president of GATEKEEPERS, a nonprofit organization to support the Gifted and Talented Education program (GATE) of the M.P.U.S.D. In this position, I led fundraising drives, organized parent meetings, conducted GATEKEEPERS surveys and created the organization's database.

From 1991 through 1995 I served as a Chinese linguist in the U.S. Army (active duty). From 1995 through 2001, I worked in the U.S. Army Reserve and the California Army National Guard as a warrant officer. As such, I led the language training of over 60 soldiers.

Education:

Bachelor of Arts Degree (Spanish) from Carelton College, Northfield, MN

Master of International Management Degree (Finance) from American Graduate School of International Management, Glendale, AZ

Completed basic Chinese Mandarin course, Defense Language Institute, Monterey, CA

Earned California multiple subject teaching credential, Chapman University, Monterey, CA

Languages spoken: Spanish, Chinese, French, Japanese, Thai