Here is an interview with Jeff Monroe on various topics that will have some impact on Woodland. Thank you Jeff for participating and allowing the community to hear your thoughts.
1. What is your political party affiliation?
Democrat but I think it is important to stress that we represent every citizen of Woodland when we are acting as council members. I believe the non-partisanship requirement of this job is important.
2. Are you running for city council in the next election?
Probably but I think it is very early to be asking these questions right now. The election is still well over a year away. Ask me again during the holiday season.
3. What was your best accomplishment in your previous term as a city councilman?
Keep in mind; the only way to accomplish anything is to build a consensus amongst the other council members. You need at least three votes to do anything. Having said that it is the little things that are the most important to me. Helping a citizen with a problem or an issue of importance to them. I believe that once you are elected to office you become a servant for the people. I originally got into politics because I thought the city and some elected officials were not listening to the community’s very valid concerns. I have been fighting to make city hall more user friendly ever since.
The best visible accomplishments during my term would be improvements to the downtown such as the monuments at the entrance to downtown, the Weisman Building, new benches and new garbage cans downtown, Costco coming to Woodland, creating more than ten new police officers and firefighter positions, building a modern police station, building the new fire station on Court Street, building Jeff Roddy Park, and of course the new Community Center just to name a few.
4. What was your worst experience as a council member?
It was having to inform someone once that his wife had been killed in a traffic accident. It still breaks my heart to think about it.
5. What sets you apart from Pimentel and Flory?
We are all very different in our approach to government but I think some differences are more obvious then others. I worked in the fields for Half Moon Fruit & Produce in Yolo and before that for my grandfather on our family cattle ranch. I am a military veteran. I spent four years in the service and two of those years were overseas which is why I volunteer my time whenever possible to veterans groups in the community.
I have also been a police officer for more than 21 years. I am a Lieutenant at the Yolo County Sheriff’s Department which gives me an in depth knowledge of public safety issues in our area. Most people do not know that our fire and police departments utilize the city’s entire property tax and sales tax revenues, almost 70% of our budget. Public safety is what cities do and without good public safety there is no quality of life in our community.
I also have management experience and hold a BA in Business Management from Saint Mary’s College. I believe my management experience helps when the city is faced with issues concerning the Americans with Disability Act, Family Medical Leave Act, Fair Labor and Standards Act, or other personnel issues that invariable come to the council.
6. Do you want to be Mayor?
Being a member of the city council is all that is important to me. I will say that Dave Flory has been the best Mayor I have had the opportunity to serve with. Dave always allows the community to speak and every council member is allowed to participate in the discussion, which I believe are the two most important ingredients to being a good mayor.
Whomever the community selects to be mayor in the next election I hope it is someone that will listen well to the community and work hard to find common ground among our citizens. I dislike when elected officials tear our community apart to promote their own agenda. I believe good politicians should be consensus builders and bottom line servants for the people.
I would like to ask a few questions about your true intentions for running?
a. Will you leave council midterm and run for Sheriff?
No, I think the idea of me running for Sheriff comes mostly from the community.
By the way, I think our current Sheriff does a great job and I will continue to be a strong supporter of his.
b. Are you running just to have Mayor or councilman as a title?
I think that is kind of an odd question. I am running because I believe that I make a difference to a lot of people in this community. Official titles mean very little to me. However, I accept the fact that titles are important to some people people. Maybe I could make a motion to change the title to “Do Gooder at Large”
Honestly, the only titles that really mean anything to me are husband and father. Those are two titles I proudly wear every day of my life. I am blessed with a wonderful wife and beautiful children.
c. Are there any other future political positions that you would consider?
I might consider running for Supervisor some day. However, if I won that seat I would have to resign from the Sheriff’s Department so that is not really an option right now. I really enjoy getting up every morning and going to work for the Sheriff’s Department. I do not know how many people can honestly say they love their job but I really do enjoy going to work every morning.
7. What do you see as the future economic outlook for Woodland?
I believe that Woodland’s economic future is very bright. There are a lot of good things happening right now and even better things on the horizon but as a council I think we need to work harder to develop some of our economic opportunities.
In the downtown we are looking at a new courthouse, a new downtown theatre, the Opera House is going to be renovated, the Lofts Project will bring townhouses to our downtown and several older buildings are being renovated for office space.
We will be bringing a new fire department on line soon, the Community Center will be building out and our new sports park will be adding soccer and softball fields.
The single biggest issue however is solving our flood plain issue. Half of our residents and our entire commercial district lie in the flood plain. If we can solve that problem it would be a renaissance for Woodland.
8. How do you plan to deal with the current budget problems that the city faces?
To tell you the truth, I think talk of budget problems is a little overblown. Every year that I have been on the council we have been painted a picture budget crisis.
The beginning of the budget process has always been made to look bleak but then we pull it out. If we run into a problem we will bridge the gap with our reserve. We have gone to great pains to build up a reserve in this city so that blips in our budget can be smoothed over without hardship to the community.
I do think there is a lot that Woodland can do to bring more revenue into our city. We need to get more aggressive with some very obvious economic opportunities within our sphere of influence.
10 & 11. What can you do to help our schools? (combined a similar question)
I am the only council member with school age children so the school system is very important to me. However, it saddens me to be talking about another possible bond measure for Pioneer High School so soon. As a taxpayer I have tried to get the school and the city to cooperate in the interest of saving taxpayer dollars.
I tried to place the City Sports Park between Woodland Community College and Pioneer High School because I anticipated that Pioneer High School would not have the funding to finish the school in its entirety. The Community College was willing to donate the land for the sports park, the city has more than $30 million in development fees and sales tax revenue to build the park, and all three jurisdictions would have shared in the maintenance and upkeep. It only required that we share the facility. Unfortunately, three of my fellow council members were not willing to place the park there so here we are looking at another bond, which is going to cost the taxpayers.
I would reluctantly support a new bond because we have to take care of our children’s educational needs. They are the future. It is just a little frustrating at times because we as a city could have solved this problem by simply sharing the sports park.
12. Do you know of any big decisions coming up that will impact Woodland?
The biggest decision we are facing right now is the hiring of a new city manager. Any city council is only as good as the staff we surround ourselves with. We have to be able to depend on the information we get from staff and on their special expertise.
We are also starting an update of our Master Plan. The master plan will guide our community for the next ten years. It is vital that we get the community’s participation in updating this document and that the community supports the end product.
13. What are you looking for in a new City Manager?
After listening to the community and my fellow council members that is an easy question to answer… obviously someone who walks on water.
All kidding aside, we have set some lofty goals but I would settle for someone who is willing to listen to our community, get involved, has sound financial skills and has great communication skills.
14. What are your feelings about the fire fighters?
We are still negotiating and so I cannot talk about specifics but I will say
I support them in their efforts for equity. I understand the physical and mental strain associated with public safety positions. It is a job that very few people are capable of doing or willing to do. It is also a job where very few people make it to retirement without becoming disabled on the job. It is a dangerous profession and it takes a toll on your health.
If I could have one wish granted it would be that people get the chance to walk a day in a firefighters shoes. I do not think people can fully comprehend what it means to be a firefighter or police officers unless you’ve been there. Every experience, every traumatic incident, every accident or death is something you carry inside you for the rest of your life. A lot of public safety people kiss their family members goodbye in the morning knowing they might not ever see them again. I know of no other profession except the military where that is just considered part of the job.
I have seen our firefighters in action in many situations but one incident really touched my family in a personal way. February 14, 2001, my wife and I went to dinner for Valentines Day and left our children with one of their grandmothers. My one-year-old daughter Jenevieve had a childhood seizure and stopped breathing. Our fire department was on scene within three minutes. My daughter is alive today because of their experience, professionalism and attention to duty. How do you put on a price on such service?
These are very important people when you need them. In Woodland, we are blessed to have the best men and women serving our community. Unfortunately, what that means is that other communities are looking to Woodland to fill their employment vacancies. If we do not find a way to better value these employees we will start losing that quality to other communities. They have stayed here thus far out of loyalty but loyalty is a two-way street.
I believe our community wants and deserves the best service possible from our firefighters. The true quality of a city is set by the tenor of its public safety people. There is no quality of life unless we feel safe and protected in our homes and in public places.
Our fire fighters are simply asking for parity with other fire departments in Yolo County. I see it as a genuine effort on their part to maintain quality within their ranks. I for one think their profession deserves at least that much respect and I will continue to be a strong supporter of their efforts.
15. How much money do you anticipate raising for the upcoming election?
It depends on who runs for office. I do not like asking people for money but asking for money is the reality of political office.
If Dave, Art and I run unopposed for office, which is not unheard of, then I would probably raise very little, maybe a couple of thousand dollars for some brochures to hand out. It just would not be necessary to raise any significant amounts.
However, in my last two elections the candidate field was crowded and I anticipate it will probably be crowded again so I will probably have to raise between $15,000 - $20,000 to be competitive.
Keep in mind though; it is still very early to even be considering such issues.
Other comments?
I think we have a good council where every viewpoint and idea is allowed to be expressed openly. People have been telling me lately they notice how much friendlier the council is to the community and just as important to each other. I really like the idea of being called the “friendly council.” I think our two newest members Bill and Skip are partly responsible for that change.
I personally hope everyone feels they can approach us anytime either individually or at city hall and express themselves. Government can be frustrating and slow but when the community gets involved it works. I think we have that mindset now and we are showing a willingness to listen and change when necessary.
Thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak to the community.
Last week, news 10 reported that a 14 year old Sacramento boy was forced to urinate inside of the classroom into a Gatorade bottle. The parents were demanding that the teacher be fired. Today they are reporting that the student has been suspended and the teacher was transferred to a different school. 
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