Book Table of contents
LESSONS FROM THE HOT SEAT: GOVERNING AT THE LOCAL AND REGIONAL LEVEL
Introduction
One: Confronting Controversy
1. The Shooting of Oscar Grant
2. Rossmoor: Anatomy of a Difficult Decision
3. Labor Negotiations at BART: First Strikes After 16 Years
Two: Culture Clashes
1. The Black Friday 14 Shutdown of BART
2. Walnut Creek Growth Wars: A Ten-Year Saga
3. Why Don’t You Fix Ygnacio Valley Road?
4. The Rolling Quads Battle for Access
5. Resolving Suburban/Urban Conflicts on a Regional Board
Three: Building for Posterity
1. And Now, On with the Show!
Building a Performing Arts Center in Walnut Creek
2. Trains are Coming—the Story of e-BART
3. One Stop Living--
Creating a Transit Village through Public/Private Partnerships
4. Grass Roots Battle for Walnut Creek Open Space
5. The Planning Commission: Seeing Change Through the Looking Glass
Four: Building Relationships
1. Establishing Walnut Creek’s Sister City Program in Italy
2. Working Across Borders: Dual Negotiations with Clayton
3. My First Brush with Politics: Defending Freedom of the Press
4. Public Speaking: the Cloak of Confidence
Conclusion
"I want to be in the room where it happens."
When I heard that lyric in the musical “Hamilton,” it encapsulated the driving force behind my desire to enter public service and politics. Motivated by the conviction that government could improve, I became involved myself. I wanted to shape the future “in the room where it happens.”