VIG 11/03/26-Candidate Statements-Town of Fairfax

As a therapist and hospital chaplain, I have years of experience helping various factions come together in creative compromise in emotionally fraught and highly charged situations. As Fairfax strives to hold true to our values while engaging with the changing needs of the world, I believe this experience is needed. An idealist at heart, I recognize this must be tempered with practicality.

I am a parent of two kids who have attended Manor, White Hill and Archie Williams, so I am familiar with the needs of families. While I have lived in Fairfax for 9 years, I have been a Bay Area resident since 1999, so I am familiar with the changes over the past 27 years and how that has affected long-term residents.

I am committed to increasing communication between community members and the council. It will be my place to listen deeply to your concerns, from housing and affordability to street and building upkeep, and bring these to the council meetings.

I will work to support Open Space, and to foster the welcoming, inclusive atmosphere of the town I fell in love with nearly a decade ago.

My public service began at Fairfax’s Contratti Field, where I taught pee-wee baseball to six-year-olds. That rewarding experience launched a lifelong commitment to serving my community. I later spent eight years on the San Anselmo Parks and Recreation Commission, where I was elected chair three times, while also coaching youth baseball for eight years.

As a member of the San Anselmo Town Council, I championed transparency, respect, and compliance with the Brown Act. On the Ross Valley Sanitary District Board of Directors, I helped turn around a troubled agency, secure three credit-rating upgrades, and fully fund its pension and OPEB obligations. I achieved similar results with Central Marin Sanitation Agency and served on the Marin Emergency Radio Authority and the Ross Valley Fire Board.

I currently serve with the Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers, advocating for fair, necessary tax measures and fiscal responsibility.

Fairfax needs a new direction. Too much taxpayer money goes to attorneys, too little to road repairs. Residents also deserve to be treated with respect and gratitude. Throughout my 35-year California career as a restaurant technology provider, I have built lasting client relationships by practicing responsive, respectful service every day and will bring those values to Fairfax.

www.dougkellyfairfax.com

I am a third generation California and Fairfax resident for nearly 20 years. Over the years, our family made many trips to the Marin Coast before settling here in 2007.

I love Fairfax. It is a welcoming and diverse community and an environmental gift, to which I wish to give back by helping support and preserve the character and qualities of our Town.

I have been fortunate to have spent more than 30 years serving the public. I worked at the California Coastal Conservancy, continuing on as an attorney for the City of Emeryville, the State of Maine, the City of New York, and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, from which I retired after 15 years. I served on the Fairfax Open Space Committee for about two years. I believe my experience will serve our Town well.

Endorsements: Stephanie Hellman, Mayor of Fairfax; Barbara Coler, Fairfax Councilmember; Lisel Blash, Fairfax Town Councilmember; David Weinsoff, former Fairfax Mayor and Councilmember; PJ Feffer, Fairfax Planning Commissioner; Daniel Cardozo, Fairfax Planning Commissioner and Member, Fairfax Climate Action Commission; Claude Ibrahimoff, Member, Fairfax Park and Recreation Committee; and Megan Thorpe, Board Member, Yes Foundation.

I respectfully ask for your vote.

Soy californiana de tercera generación y residente de Fairfax desde hace casi 20 años. A lo largo de los años, nuestra familia realizó muchos viajes a la costa de Marin antes de establecerse aquí en 2007.

Amo Fairfax. Es una comunidad acogedora y diversa, y un regalo ambiental, al cual deseo retribuir ayudando a apoyar y preservar el carácter y las cualidades de nuestra ciudad.

He tenido la fortuna de haber dedicado más de 30 años al servicio público. Trabajé en la California Coastal Conservancy y posteriormente me desempeñé como abogada para la ciudad de Emeryville, el estado de Maine, la ciudad de Nueva York y el Bay Area Air Quality Management District, donde trabajé durante 15 años antes de jubilarme. Serví en el Comité de Espacios Abiertos de Fairfax durante aproximadamente dos años. Creo que mi experiencia será de gran beneficio para nuestra ciudad.

Respaldos: Stephanie Hellman, Alcaldesa de Fairfax; Barbara Coler, Concejala de Fairfax; Lisel Blash, Concejala de Fairfax; David Weinsoff, exalcalde y exconsejero de Fairfax; PJ Feffer, Comisionado de Planificación de Fairfax; Daniel Cardozo, Comisionado de Planificación de Fairfax y Miembro de la Comisión de Acción Climática de Fairfax; Claude Ibrahimoff, Miembro del Comité de Parques y Recreación de Fairfax; y Megan Thorpe, Miembro de la Junta de la Fundación Yes.

Le pido respetuosamente su voto.

As a resident of our vibrant town for 46 years, my roots in Fairfax run deep. Growing up here, raising my two young kids here, and serving our community have shaped who I am. Fairfax is my home. I am running for Town Council to protect Fairfax’s future and preserve its unique spirit.

My 36-year career in public safety taught me the value of calm leadership, decisive action, and teamwork during crises. I will use this experience to prioritize emergency preparedness and support our public safety agencies.

It’s time to get back to basics. I am committed to strict fiscal responsibility, ensuring your hard-earned tax dollars are managed transparently and spent wisely on essential services. With proper policies and priorities, we can spend significantly more of our tax revenues on fixing our streets, buildings, and infrastructure.

I am running to be a uniting voice for Fairfax. As a councilmember, I will listen to our residents and our local business community over outside interests. Local government works best that way. I will work to bring people together, bridge divisions, and lead with empathy and common sense.

I respectfully ask for your vote to keep Fairfax safe, fiscally sound, and united.

As a frontline healthcare worker and a mother navigating the unique world of accessibility, my daily life is built on problem-solving, empathy, and advocacy. These experiences give me the practical, real-world perspective necessary to make informed, thoughtful decisions for Fairfax.

As a lifelong Marin resident, my roots and my heart are firmly planted in this community. Raising an amazing young man who is blind has taught me deep resilience, fierce advocacy, and the true value of an accessible, supportive town. Every day as a local hospital nursing assistant, I provide hands-on care to our neighbors during their most critical moments.

I understand this community and the people in it because I live our shared realities every single day. This firsthand experience is exactly what I will bring to the town council.

I offer an open mind, a calm perspective, and a dedicated heart to the decisions that shape our community. I am ready to work for you, and I respectfully ask for your vote.

Cheryl Scorza

www.Scorza4Fairfax.com

Restoring community trust is the biggest challenge facing the Fairfax Town Council. An essential responsibility of the Council is to listen to residents and provide a respectful forum where all voices can be heard. I’ve proven I have the patience, candor, and kindness needed to help create that environment.

As a former mayor, Town Council Member, Marin Water Director, and attorney, I bring experience in local government, fiscal oversight, public improvement projects, and the law. Good governance requires both responsible stewardship of public funds and careful attention to legal and policy decisions.

Our Town also needs fiscal discipline and a renewed focus on core goals: safe and well-maintained streets and parks, public safety, arts and recreation, and increased local input over development. Downtown Fairfax remains the hub of our community and improvements to Center, Broadway, Bolinas Road and Sir Francis Drake should be a priority.

As Chair of the Fairfax Festival and co-founder of the Fairfax Food Pantry, I have worked alongside members of our community for many years and share Fairfax’s strong environmental and social values.

Fairfax has been good to me, and I hope to again try to pay it forward with your vote.

Larry Bragman

bragmanforcouncil@ gmail.com

Restaurar la confianza de la comunidad es el mayor desafío que enfrenta el Concejo Municipal de Fairfax. Una responsabilidad esencial del Consejo es escuchar a los residentes y proporcionar un foro respetuoso donde todas las voces puedan ser escuchadas. He demostrado que poseo la paciencia, la franqueza y la amabilidad necesarias para ayudar a crear ese ambiente.

Como exalcalde, miembro del Concejo Municipal, director de Marin Water y abogado, aporto experiencia en gobierno local, supervisión fiscal, proyectos de mejora pública y derecho. Una buena gestión requiere tanto una administración responsable de los fondos públicos como una atención cuidadosa a las decisiones legales y políticas.

Nuestra ciudad también necesita disciplina fiscal y un renovado enfoque en los objetivos principales: calles y parques seguros y bien mantenidos, seguridad pública, artes y recreación, y una mayor participación local en el desarrollo. El centro de Fairfax sigue siendo el núcleo de nuestra comunidad y las mejoras en Center, Broadway, Bolinas Road y Sir Francis Drake deben ser una prioridad.

Como presidente del Festival de Fairfax y cofundador de la Despensa de Alimentos de Fairfax, he trabajado junto a los miembros de nuestra comunidad durante muchos años y comparto los sólidos valores ambientales y sociales de Fairfax.

Fairfax ha sido muy buena conmigo, y espero poder retribuirle una vez más con su voto.

Larry Bragman

bragmanforcouncil@ gmail.com

I am running for the largely ceremonial position of elected Town Clerk. In the modern world, it is paid professional members of staff who perform the complex duties of keeping our town running. Most California cities and towns have eliminated the legacy elected position.

So why would I run for Town Clerk?

I love our wonderful Town and have lived in Fairfax for 26 years with my wife raising our kids here. Having chaired the General Plan Advisory Committee and Climate Action Committee, served on Planning Commission, and then seven years on Town Council, I have strong working relationships with community members and with our amazing town staff. The Town Clerk’s office is critical to the efficient and effective workings of the Town: record-keeping, running elections, and much more.

As elected Clerk, I look forward to sharing stories regarding staff actions, perhaps in the Town Newsletter, to help Farfaxians see the great work staff does. It’s really impressive how hard all our staff members work, but most of our interaction with them is in getting a permit or something. We should all appreciate what they do for us.

Offering deep experience and earned trust, I’d appreciate your vote.

I am a 34 year resident of Fairfax, working as an accountant, which requires exceptional ability to pay attention to detail as does the role of Town Clerk.

I have attended over 200 Council meetings, giving me an historical understanding of our government’s functioning from the viewpoint of the people. We, 2640 of us, voted in the 2024 election to keep the Officer of Town Clerk an elected position. Town Clerk serves as liaison between the people and the Council. I am asking to be of service to the people of Fairfax, knowing that forming a healthy working relationship with Council and Town staff will be not only a necessity but will be of benefit to the people.

Being a volunteer member of the Fairfax Tree Committee for 7 years; serving as Chairperson for 3, required me to gain an understanding of both Roberts Rules of Order and the Ralph M. Brown Act.

I am currently enrolled in classes with the California Municipal Clerks Association and am independently studying the many places in our ordinances referring to the duties of the Town Clerk.

I am active in my community, raised my family here and engage in various volunteer roles.