Politics & Government

Fields Taps Into Broad Skills, Experience

Candidate John Fields tells Patch how Glendora can boost its economy and small businesses, and why voters should elect him to City Council.

Of all the attributes the seven candidates for Glendora City Council boast during the campaign for the March 8 election – experience, education, knowledge – one confidently adds showmanship to his list of qualifications.

“I have a broad skills set and expertise that encompasses the relevant education, the background, the skills and the experience to be a member of city council,” said candidate John Fields. “But count on me to add a little pizzazz to what I do.”

The 53-year-old Glendora native grew up in a family that loved the arts, putting on theater productions in their garage for neighborhood children.

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Longtime Glendora residents still remember and talk about the variety show Fields coordinated as a junior in high school called “Fields Follies.” The show raised thousands of dollars for the 1975 junior high prom at Glendora High School.

But beyond his love for the arts, Fields says local government has always been his passion.

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He said he began his career initially wanting to become a city manager, interning and later working for the cities of Glendora and Duarte. He majored in political science at Cal Poly Pomona and earned his MBA at Claremont College.

Following graduate school, he left the public sector and entered a marketing career with Transamerica Corporation.

Since 1989, Fields moved between El Paso and Glendora, first working at El Paso Community College, then as a the head of the Covina Chamber of Commerce. Fields moved back to El Paso to become the vice president of the El Paso Chamber of Commerce, before raising funds for the El Paso YWCA. Fields moved back to Glendora for the final time to his current position as the executive director of the Rifle and Pistol Association in 2007.

Fields talks to Patch about his experience, his stance on economic development and city pensions, and who he believes should join him city council if he were elected.

What is the most critical issue facing the city and how would you address it once elected to City Council?

I believe the budget is the most important issue. To be solvent, we need to look at every source of revenue.

I don’t think we’re doing enough for economic development. We need to aggressively recruit organizations in the city. Specifically, we should be targeting high tech companies. For example, Monrovia has Sun Microsystems. I would love to see that here.

is coming to Glendora, and that’s a great addition. I’d like to see more corporations like that. We enjoy such high quality of life here. A lot of  people would love to come to Glendora and would love to call it home.

To keep the budget solvent, you’ve got to increase the revenue and decrease the expenditures.

I could be wrong, but I don’t believe we have cut everything that we could cut without affecting the level of service. I think there are some things that still need to be looked at. For example, compensation. There are four different city groups represented by four different unions. If one is willing to accept severe cuts for the sake of the city, then all of those groups should follow suit. I don’t think one group should enjoy different, better benefits than another group. I’m uncomfortable with that.

It’s been my experience that unions grow and strengthen when there are issues between employees and management. When things are good and people are well treated and well respected, compensation benefits are fair, and everyone feels good about what they ‘re getting, unions have a tough time growing and establishing themselves. When there are problems, when compensation is bad, unions thrive and I think that’s what’s happening here. I don’t like this ongoing practice of treating different employee groups differently. I just think it’s unfair.

To say that what you do is more important than what this group does is wrong. I think that the idea of management  receiving additional or nicer benefits or increased benefits, I think it’s absolutely wrong.

With your past experience working with small businesses, what do you think is the role of small businesses in the community?

I don’t think we’re doing enough to grow small business. I’ve seen too many horror stories of businesses trying to come in and  meeting too many hurdles or problems at the city. What I’m hearing is that there’s a group that would like to put in a banquet hall for weddings. Every wedding that I’ve been to, usually goes into the wee hours of the morning. That’s the nature of a banquet hall and the city didn’t want them to be open after midnight. It’s things like that. If someone wants to put in a pig farm in the middle of downtown Glendora, then of course there needs to restrictions on that. But sometimes I feel the city goes over the top.

Personally, I think [the banquet hall] is a great idea. But the city has fought them in every way, and it has cost this business thousands and thousands of dollars more than it would have cost them if they went to another city.

I like the concept of the , and some  concept or some version of it can be extended to businesses on Route 66. That’s a historic transportation artery and we don’t do too much marketing towards it.

I was talking to some of the businesses on Route 66 and they told me how hard it is to compete with these big boxes like Wal-mart

What I was thinking was, what if all the Glendora businesses on Route 66 – not the big box retailers – would have a coupon book? In exchange for buying tires for a little more than what you would have paid at Wal-mart, you would get this coupon book of savings from businesses all along the route. You couldn’t get that at Wal-mart

Should the city get involved with the BID and the Chamber of Commerce? Yeah, I think they should sit with the leaders with BID and Chamber and assist them as much as they can. There are already staff members that sit in on the BID meetings, but I don’t think the city does enough.

Why are you running for City Council?

I’m the only person of the new six candidates – not including [candidate and incumbent] Doug [Tessitor]— who has the broadest background in small business development, economic development, nonprofit management, and public administration. In other words, I have the variety of relevant skills I think that’s needed. The best skill set for this job is a broad skills set. I think, quite sincerely, I’m the only one that has it. In addition to skill set, I think life experience counts for a lot.

At this point of my career, I have time now. I don’t feel like the three younger candidates have that luxury yet. I think they’re sincere and they want to serve, but they don’t have the time yet, and the demand is massive.

My skill set, my life experience and the time I have is a good combination. Doug has a very broad skill set and he knows a lot of stuff on how to be an effective city councilman. I think even as a non-incumbent, I have a lot of that, too.

There are three open seats available on a five-seat city council. With just one incumbent running among seven candidates, city voters could possibly put in a new majority on the council. The three elected candidates will make a critical impact to the makeup of the city council. If you were elected, who, among the seven candidates, do you believe should join you?

This is a tough question...Ok, let's go down the list. Let’s start with Doug. I very much respect what he’s done in terms of the. His work on that has been fabulous. But there are aspects of him that are a bit rough. But would I be comfortable serving with him? Yes.

– I think he’s Ok, but he doesn’t excite me at all. He’s a very bureaucratic type. I don’t see him as real creative or interesting, but he’s a nice man. I could work with him, but he wouldn’t be my first choice.

Judy Nelson is a very nice lady -- very gracious. But you have to get past she’s nice, and think about the skill set that’s there. I think when it comes to small business, she’s done it, and she’s lived it. But that’s it. If I were elected to city council, she would be a person I would talk to about small business, but that’s it.

Erica [Landmann-Johnsey] is a very nice person, and one of the most sincere candidates running. Her heart is in the right place and she has tremendous respect for the public and the citizens. What I like about her, personally, is what she wants to do with the foothills and the south hills. She feels strongly about that and we have that in common. I would probably lift her up many more notches if she had no connection to [recalled council mayor] John Harrold. To me, in my mind, that holds her back.

I don’t think Jason [Nagy] is ready. I just don’t think he has what it takes, maybe someday, but I don’t think he’s ready.

Cynthia Carrasco – the more I get to know her, the more I like what I see. I see she’s extremely bright, and interesting and creative. I think she’s emerging as my favorite candidate. Young as she is, inexperienced as she is, she’s just full of promise.

I can see the best three to get in are Doug – because of his background, me – because all of the things I bring to the table and Cynthia – because of her unique perspective as a young, Hispanic woman, and a lawyer. She brings a lot to the table.

Editor's Note: From the transcribed interview, we have added preliminary comments leading into the final answer.

Editor's Note: This feature is the second in a seven-part candidate series. Each one-on-one interview will focus on an individual candidate for Glendora City Council in the March 8 election. Future articles in this series will run Feb. 28,  March 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. The order of candidate profiles will run in the order of the final ballot.


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