Supervisor Dave Roberts: Hitting the 100-Day Mark

Today marks my 100^th day on the job as a San Diego County Supervisor.

A look at my schedule makes it clear that my 100^th day is a lot like the 99 before it—replete with meetings and briefings. And I like it that way.

Today, health care and social service executives, power company officials and land-use planners are among the many people I am scheduled to meet.

If time permits—and I hope it does—I will attend tonight’s meeting of the Torrey Hills Planning Board. Whenever possible, I attend community meetings to hear directly from constituents about the issues that matter to them.

I have found that listening and collaborating in an open and friendly fashion is the best way to get things done.

In 100 days, I have held more than 300 meetings with dozens of individuals and community groups and that number just keeps going up.

Collaborating with my colleagues has resulted in unanimous support for my policy initiatives. One of them seeks to increase public safety by completing an audit of county mental health services. The Board of Supervisors also voted to update the county’s strategic energy plan and to advance the county’s Property Assessed Clean Energy program.

I have supported responsible development, including a 125-home project in Ramona and a 742-unit development in Harmony Grove. I was pleased that my colleagues supported my motion to require wiring and plumbing for energy-efficient systems for the Ramona project. In addition, I voted to set aside acreage as permanent open space.

Also on the land-use front, I am proud to have reappointed Peder Norby to a second, four-year term on the County Planning Commission.

I have voted to improve water-quality monitoring at our beaches and to expand commercial recycling to meet state-mandated waste-diversion goals.

Earlier this month, I was pleased to facilitate the county’s first-ever participation in Earth Hour.

Outreach of all kinds has been a central goal for me and my staff. Within hours after I was sworn in, I toured county offices to meet managers and rank-and-file employees. I have joined the Filipino-American and Latino employee relations groups. I began attending community meetings to introduce myself.

I have supported improvements to animal services, libraries and the arts.

I hosted a forum in Escondido to help small businesses grow and to create jobs. Job creation and economic development are guiding principles of the county’s Community Enhancement Grant program. To add transparency and community involvement into the process of awarding those grants, I have empanelled a 7-member board of representatives from throughout District Three to review applications and make recommendations to me.

I am determined to stay in touch with constituents. That’s why I publish an electronic newsletter every week. I encourage all county residents to visit my Web page and to follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

And because District Three covers a large area, I keep monthly office hours in Del Mar and Escondido. To schedule a meeting at one of those locations, please call my office.

The phone number for Supervisor Dave Roberts is 619-531-5533. Visit him online at supervisordaveroberts.com.