Last Tuesday, I was elected to represent you on the county Democratic Party Central Committee. I'm deeply moved by the voters support.

California is leading the Country on environmental issues and I'm thrilled that elected representatives in San Mateo County are addressing climate change. Last month, I organized a Sea Level Rise & Erosion Forum. Over 175 people including city, county, and state representatives packed the Douglas Beach House to the rafters! We're fortunate to live an area with an engaged electorate and strong leadership.

If you follow KQED News & Radio, CBS This Morning, Associated Press, Half Moon Bay Review, Santa Cruz Sentinel, Outside Magazine, or if you received my campaign mailer then you may have read about my effort to include women professional big-wave surfers in the Mavericks Surf Contest. To date no women have been allowed to compete in the Mavericks contest. Hopefully that will change soon!

Concerns about gender inequality in professional surfing are near and dear to my heart; my wife Aimee Luthringer and I live on a bluff top in Moss Beach overlooking the Mavericks surf break. This month, a documentary premiered in San Francisco that included a segment about the work I'm doing to ensure that both men and women are allowed to compete at future Mavericks big-wave events.

I grew up in Mobile, Alabama and I truly appreciate living in a place as progressive as the Bay Area. I'm committed to advocating for human rights, our environment, public transit, early childhood education, lowering college tuition, and ending pay-gap inequality.

This is a critical time for our County as we head into the presidential election. The Senate's inability to fill the empty seat on the US Supreme Court is a reminder of why it's so important to elect enlightened leaders and keep a Democrat in the White House. I'm honored that Democratic Party voters trust me to represent their values on the Central Committee.

With Gratitude,