My endorsement for Michael Winkler for Arcata City Council
I would like to offer a personal testimony of why I will be be voting for Michael Winkler on November 4th this year.
I have come to trust Michael to represent me in city government by witnessing his dedication to the moral principles that drive him. Michael has invested the time, energy and money in his professional, academic, and personal life to walk his talk like few others have. Knowing what his practical action-oriented approach has already achieved with HSU programs, I look forward to see what it will achieve at the city level.
Michael is a candidate to break barriers and build bridges. Too often, there is a divide between the technical and political worlds, where engineers who create and implement technologies do not take into account their environmental and social ramifications, and where politicians make policy decisions about technical issues they do not understand. Michael’s professional work and civic participation counter this unfortunate tendency. As an engineer concerned about the social and environmental ramifications of technology, he left his high-paying job in Silicon Valley to work in the Schatz Energy Research Center at HSU and earn a degree in environmental engineering. His sense of social and environmental responsibility has inspired him to create new programs and policies at HSU, including the Humboldt Energy Independence Program to make HSU energy independent by 2043 with student-designed educational projects, and the 100% Recycled Paper Policy, which “will save annually the equivalent of 1,200 mature trees; 349,000 gallons of water; 204,000 kilowatt hours of electricity; 3,000 lbs. of air pollution; and 104,485 lbs. of greenhouse gases” (Executive Memorandum for 100% recycled paper). His home is a model of sustainability, giving back more energy to the grid than it uses, and producing one can of trash per year.
Not only is Michael the candidate to span the technical sciences and policy arenas, he is the best candidate to build bridges between HSU and Arcata. Creating bridges between HSU and Arcata is often a theme of in Arcata City Council campaigns, but Michael has demonstrated successes in this area, and is well-positioned to continue delivering more.
Michael has an extensive network of university contacts\. His experience implementing successful programs and as a CCAT steering committee member gives him a tremendous advantage in navigating the university’s decision-making structure. His current work at Schatz and recent work in other projects on campus gives him a window into current university programs and opportunities that no other candidate shares.
Michael’s successful track record is not limited to HSU. A six-plus year planning commission member, he he has demonstrated his effectiveness at working with others, his respect for process, and his commitment to long-term planning.
A dedicated listener, Michael is determined to personally meet as many citizens of the Arcata community as is humanly possible to hear their concerns. He plans to cover all of Arcata’s doorsteps by November 4th as he did in the past election. With the combination of his listening skills and effective problem-solving approach, Michael is able to break down problems to create effective, implementable solutions. Let’s put this consensus-building, problem-solving, bridge-building listener to work for us in city government on November 4th.
Aaron Antrim
aaron :: Aug.19.2008 :: Arcata ::