Nelson: Managing a City is Like Managing a Business

Many people know city council candidate Judy Nelson simply by her last name – her store Mrs. Nelson’s Bookstore in La Verne has been a successful local bookstore and advocate for child literacy and schools for the last 25 years.

It was a venture that started off simply with a family’s love for books.

“My children are very close in age and all of us really enjoyed going to the library and going to the bookstore and reading together,” Nelson said. “It was an activity that was very satisfying.”

Since opening her store in 1985 as a young mother of four children, Nelson has given two other business ventures her namesake– Mrs. Nelson’s Book Fair Company and Mrs. Nelson’s Library Services, both housed in Pomona.

Nelson has since retired and has handed over the reigns of her business to two of her children. With more time on her hands, Nelson found her passion in local government. She began volunteering at local organizations and two years ago joined the Republican Central Committee for the 59th District.

Now, Nelson is setting her sights on a spot on the Glendora City Council.

“I’ve been really concerned about what’s happening in our country and our state, and how it’s affecting our city and our economy,” said Nelson. “ I decided a few years ago I had to step up and start doing things myself instead of thinking things would get better on its own.”

But for those who question her qualifications as a city council member, the 67-year-old Glendora resident points to her more than two decades of business experience.

Nelson talks to Patch about her views on boosting economic development, what it means to be fiscally conservative and how she would contribute as a member of the city council.

You’ve referenced your business background as your qualifications for City Council. How do you think your background has prepared you for this position?

The city council directs what the city manager and the department heads do, and it really should be run as a business. The city –just as any small business or business – should have a balanced budget, needs to have reserves set aside for emergencies, needs to properly manage its employees, needs to be proactive and generate revenue, it needs to figure out in difficult times how to bring in more revenue to the city and figure out what to do when you see that revenue’s dropping. All of those things you have to do – and I have done it – as a business owner.

You have said during this campaign that you have a lot to learn. At times, you have not taken a stance on issues because you stated you needed to learn more about the it. What do you say to those who feel as though, that as a candidate, you should already be familiar with these issues?

There is a lot to learn. I think that’s why the council term is four years and not two, and it takes a long time to learn what you need to know. I will be ready to take on the position if I am elected. But I think even elected, you are still learning. Ever since I decided to run I have been spending at least 40 hours a week, researching, talking to people, learning about how city council functions, learning about how our city is managed and how our city operates. I am doing a lot of work. I still have a lot to learn and I will continue to immerse myself in all manners related to city operations.

I think the important things to look for in a city council candidate are qualities of character. I think individuals elected to city council have to be of high integrity, have excellent work ethic, need to fully commit themselves 100 percent to the task, need to be good learners and research information. If you have those qualities, you will be more likely be a good city council person than some one who has just been hanging around the city and not paying attention to what’s happening.

What do you feel are the most important issues facing the city of Glendora and how would you address it as a member of the city council?

In a very general sense, it’s the finances of the city. It encompasses our expenses and our income. One important thing that’s coming up this year is the renegotiation of the police contracts. That’s going to be critical.

I think we need to have to have a citizens committee on the budget. This would be an independent group not related to the City, who look at the budget piece by piece and give recommendation or a evaluations for the city. I’ve met with the city manager and the department heads and I think we have very high standards. Our employees are extremely professional and I’m not concerned that there are cases of mismanagement as there are in other cities. But I think we should still have an outside group of individuals who should sit down and look over the budget and identify areas that we could do differently and save ourselves some money. I think it’s a lot to ask the city council to do it because it’s so complicated.

Also, I think the city employees – the ones actually doing the job— we should ask them specifically, “In your department, where do you see we can save money?” I think the employees actually doing the job can actually provide a lot of great input to the decision-making process.

Also, I think the Route 66 Specific Plan really needs to be revisited. It’s been 2003 since we drafted that plan. I’d like to see a group come together again and talk about how to more actively generate more businesses there, what businesses we want to put in here, how are we going to get them and how can we help existing businesses have an easier time with it.

I have a very strong opinion that property owners have a right to develop their property, that’s why they own it and we don’t want to interfere with that. At the same time, I would hold firmly with our current zoning laws with the development of the property, so that the city retains the look and the feel that it has now, so we don’t have overdevelopment. We shouldn’t allow something that goes into a residential area that really doesn’t belong there.

My philosophy is that we have to protect the rights of property owners to develop their property and protect Glendora so that it retains the wonderful feeling that it has right now.

What do you think sets you apart from the other candidates?

I believe I am probably the most fiscally conservative candidate. I’m just generally conservative in my beliefs and I know that would be reflected if I were elected.

For example, I believe in small government. I believe in allowing citizens to keep their money rather than having lots of taxation. I believe in limited regulations.  So when things come up such as more regulations or more fees, I will be in the far end of letting citizens keep their money as much as possible. Let the citizens have their freedom instead of imposing more laws and regulations. I think if citizens are left to do as they will, the economy improves, you have your money to spend and you can improve your businesses without a lot of intrusion from the government.

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 new 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?

Well, it goes without saying that I think Doug Tessitor needs to be reelected. It would not be healthy for our city to have three brand new city council members serving. Doug has eight years of experience and he has done a very good job for the city. I am not ready to publicly state my support for any of the other candidates. I'm sure that I would be able to work well with whomever the citizens of Glendora chose to elect.

Editor's Note: This feature is the fourth 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 March 2, 3, 4 and 5. The order of candidate profiles will run in the order of the final ballot.