The Interviews: Council Candidate Brad Lewis

Brad Lewis' interview began at 5:30 p.m. on the second floor of the San Carlos Library.

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Matt Grocott: I know you pretty well. Put yourself in our position. To me, the biggest question is, do you go with somebody new, or somebody who knows the citizens of San Carlos? If you’re in my position, how would you go about this. 

Brad: For me, when I first started, it took me quite a wile to figure out how it [running on council] worked. The density of the reading, understanding the process of all the departments. It took me six months to a year to get my sea legs. One thought that I had was, I feel like I’m up to speed on the process. You guys made a lot of decisions in the last two years that I need to get up to speed with. Some of the projects started when I was on council. Sitting over there I was thinking who could be the most effective and that’s why I decided to run.

 Randy Royce: I watched you as a council member for two years and served with you for two years. I’m sure you stayed tuned. After you were off council, looking back, what’s the one thing post-council, you would have sponsored.

 Brad: I’ll give you some reflection. I felt like coming off of council, you’re so in the details, I felt I could have spoken more clearly as a council person. I felt I didn’t express myself as well as I could have. I was surprised  at how much enthusiasm I felt at this six month appointment. This would be really fun. You guys have maybe done some of the toughest work, but it was invigorating thinking about digging back in. Come to issues with more perspective than I did before.

 Bob Grassilli: What do you think the biggest challenge is now that we face in our city?

Brad: In a way, not to say morale is bad, but the citizen morale and staff morale. I’m not saying it’s negative, but they’ve been through the ringer over the last few years. When you have 150-200 people, it’s hard for everyone to feel effective. When you make big changes, it’s, how do you monitor those changes. Finding how to get staff reinvigorated. Because of where things are, how can we get the community reengaged...What are the goals of the next six months and how can someone like me be effective. Monitoring the morale of staff, finding what they want to do next, and figuring out the big changes—what’s been working and what hasn’t.

 Andy Klein: If you were king for a day, what’s the one thing you would change?

Brad: I’d give free ice-cream to anyone who wanted it and a puppy to everyone. Well, frankly, I’d build a community center for everyone to gather. There’s a kinship here but we rarely have a place for everyone to gather.

Bob Grassilli: If we do appoint you, do you have any idea of running in November?

Brad: I would love to be able to say I can run in November. I can’t. I have another big project. As you guys know, it’s a position that’s nearly volunteer, but unless you put in the work you don't feel like you're doing right by the people. I wouldn’t have the time.

Editor's Note: This is not a verbatim transcript of the interview. San Carlos Patch has published the highlights of each applicant's interview.