Meet Dan Urban, Candidate For Pacifica City Council

Dan Urban is vying for a seat representing Pacifica City Council in District 2.

As county elections officials begin mailing ballots, voters will prepare to decide between candidates running for several offices and Patch has put together local voter guides and candidate profiles.

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Learn more about Dan Urban:

Age: 61

What is your educational background?

University of San Francisco: BA in Communications with an emphasis in Mass Media

Atlantic Culinary Academy (Le Cordon Bleu): AA in Culinary Arts

What is your professional background?

My professional career spans nearly four decades. From 1988–2003, I worked in mail equipment and protective packaging sales. I transitioned to food service as a Chef (2006–2008), Restaurant Manager (2008–2016), and Regional Director of Operations (2016–2026). As a Regional Director, I managed more than $30 million in annual business and led dozens of salaried managers and a team of 300+ employees.

Have you ever held public office, whether appointive or elective?

I have not. I am currently the Treasurer for my HOA which is a $200M asset.

What are the top three issues facing your district/constituents right now?

1. Financial Stability
2. Growing and maintaining the local economy
3. Ensuring that local infrastructure is robust enough to serve the residents

What is one specific policy you would implement in your first 100 days?

In my first 100 days, I would propose a Quarterly Fiscal Accountability Report that gives the City Council and residents a clear picture of Pacifica's finances. It would compare actual spending and revenues to budget, identify significant variances, track major expenditures and reserves, and require explanations and corrective plans when necessary. My goal is simple: greater transparency, stronger accountability, and a consistent focus on addressing Pacifica's structural budget deficit.

What is your plan to reduce homelessness, and how would you measure success after one year?

Homelessness requires compassion, accountability, and measurable results. My approach would focus on prevention, intervention, and pathways to permanent housing.

First, we should strengthen partnerships with the Pacifica Resource Center and San Mateo County to connect people at risk of homelessness with assistance before they lose their housing.

For those already unhoused, I support consistent outreach connecting people with shelter, mental health and substance-use services, employment assistance, and permanent housing. Programs such as Safe Parking should be evaluated based on results.

After one year, I would measure the number of people who moved into shelter or permanent housing, people prevented from becoming homeless, individuals reached through outreach, program costs, and changes in Pacifica's unsheltered population.

What is one specific change you would make to improve public safety?

One specific change I would make is to establish a Public Safety Staffing and Response-Time Accountability Plan. Pacifica residents deserve to know that when they call for help, trained police, fire, and emergency personnel will be available and able to respond quickly.

The plan would regularly report police, fire, and 911 staffing levels, vacancies, overtime, recruitment and retention, and emergency response times to the City Council and the public. If performance begins to decline, we should identify the problem early and take corrective action rather than waiting for it to become a crisis.

I would also make protecting frontline public-safety positions a priority when making difficult budget decisions. That does not mean writing a blank check. Every department should operate efficiently and be accountable for how taxpayer dollars are spent. My experience managing large operations taught me that you can demand financial discipline while protecting the resources that are most critical to the people you serve.

Public safety is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of local government. My goal would be straightforward: maintain strong staffing, measure our performance, be transparent with residents, and make sure our first responders have the resources necessary to keep Pacifica safe.

How would you improve transparency or accountability in local government?

I would improve transparency by making City finances and major decisions easier for residents to understand. Posting hundreds of pages of reports online technically provides information, but true transparency means presenting that information in a way the public can actually use.

I would advocate for a simple quarterly public dashboard showing budget versus actual spending, revenues, major contracts and expenditures, reserve levels, and progress on key City Council priorities. Significant budget variances should include a clear explanation of what happened and what corrective action, if any, is being taken.

I also believe residents deserve to understand the reasoning behind major decisions. When I vote, I will explain why I voted the way I did, particularly when the decision involves significant taxpayer dollars.

In my professional career, I was accountable for approximately $30 million in annual business. I expected my managers to know their numbers, explain variances, and have a plan when performance was off track. I believe local government should operate with the same discipline.

Transparency builds trust, but accountability requires more than publishing information. It means measuring results, asking difficult questions, explaining decisions, and taking responsibility for outcomes.

Why are you a better choice than your opponents?

I offer a very different style of leadership. I spent decades leading large organizations, managing a $30 million business, and being accountable for results. I learned that leadership is not about dominating every conversation, responding to every social media post, or trying to be the most visible person in the room.

As a Councilmember, I will use social media to communicate and listen, but I will not spend my time debating every comment online. My time belongs to the people of Pacifica—studying the issues, scrutinizing our finances, meeting with residents, working with City staff, and collaborating with my fellow Councilmembers to solve problems.

I also don't believe leadership is a popularity contest. There will be difficult decisions ahead, and sometimes the responsible decision will not be the most popular one. I am willing to ask hard questions, challenge the status quo, listen to people who disagree with me, and then decide.

Pacifica doesn't need more political theater. It needs collaboration, financial discipline, fresh thinking, and a Council focused on getting things done. That's the kind of Councilmember I intend to be.

What changes, if any, would you support regarding the role of federal immigration enforcement agencies, including ICE, and how they interact with state and/or local governments?

Immigration enforcement is primarily a federal responsibility. I support keeping Pacifica's police focused on local public safety rather than routine federal immigration enforcement. Local law enforcement should cooperate with federal authorities when legally required and in appropriate serious-crime or public-safety situations, while ensuring that all residents feel safe reporting crimes, seeking help, and accessing City services regardless of immigration status.