Victoria Fleming endorses Melanie Jones-Carter

“Current District Four Santa Rosa City Council member Victoria Fleming said, ‘We need a leader who is rooted in this community, not just running through it. Someone with both the heart and the experience to do the unglamorous, necessary work.’

She has endorsed Jones-Carter, citing what she described as her dedication to the city, depth of experience in business management and lifetime of community service.

‘You need someone who understands how a city actually functions economically, and who also genuinely cares about the people in it,” she said. “Melanie has both.’

Jones-Carter, who announced her campaign on Monday, has lived in the Junior College area since relocating with her family from Palo Alto in 2013. She is retired and spent more than 30 years in operations and management at both small and large companies, including overseeing budgeting, staff and procurement at Dynatex International.

She holds several board and commission posts, and along with her neighbors founded the Benton Street Improvement Association, which over the years has sought to promote kindness and tolerance in response to the Trump administration through a popular street sign campaign.

Jones-Carter said running for office is a natural progression to the work she’s already doing in the community and she said her role on the Design Review and Preservation Board has given her a deeper understanding of Santa Rosa government operations. She cast herself as a “doer” and said she will use her experience to take a hands-on approach to serving.

Her priorities include prioritizing quality-of-life issues such as housing and improving roads, sidewalks and other city infrastructure, addressing homelessness and making downtown more attractive.

Read the complete article by Paulina Pineda in the Press Democrat