Published September 12th, 2012
Meet the Lafayette Council Candidates: Mark Mitchell
By Cathy Tyson
Mark Mitchell
Mark Mitchell has spent a lifetime in Lafayette. He's served on the Planning Commission for the last decade, reviewing projects in and around the city, and sat through literally years worth of meetings combing through the as yet undecided Downtown Specific Plan. Married, with two teenagers, he's been active in his kids' schools, Scouts' organizations and coached eleven different sports teams from t-ball to basketball to floor hockey and beyond. In his spare time, he's served on the executive board as treasurer and currently as Foundation President for Our Savior Lutheran Church.
"Growing up in Lafayette and living here for 50 years, I share the values of our residents. We savor our small town feel; want responsible growth that is sensitive to our concerns about traffic, parking, and protection of our views. We love our schools and volunteer or donate to help out. We require a prudent fiscal plan for our City government. We love Lafayette's semi-rural beauty and want to protect our ridgelines.
Serving on Lafayette's Planning Commission for the last 10 years (Chair, 2008), I have listened carefully to our residents and have consistently voted to protect neighborhoods, support senior housing, protect our hillsides and ridgelines and to maintain the small town feel of our downtown."
Mitchell is interested in moving up to the City Council for two reasons: the shift in focus to broader issues like the budget and regional concerns, expanding from the mostly land-use issues that are the responsibility of the Planning Commission, and the people side - he admires City Council members and enjoys hearing public testimony. "In general the public is very well informed and makes interesting and valid points," he said.
Mitchell would bring experience to the City Council via work on several important civic documents. He's assisted in critiquing and revising the General Plan 2002, the Hillside and Ridgeline Ordinance 2003, and the Downtown Specific Plan. He has served on the Wireless Communications Facility Ordinance (cell phone towers) Committee to create new rules to protect public health, safety, and preserve the beauty of Lafayette. He founded the Sweet Drive Homeowners Association and co-founded burtonvalley.com in 2001.
He graduated from UC Berkeley with a BS in Business Administration in Finance and Real Estate. He's been employed as a real estate broker since 1982, specializing in investment properties and property management.
"If elected to the Lafayette City Council I promise to be responsive to the concerns of the people of Lafayette." For more information, visit his website at www.mitchell4citycouncil2012.com.





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