Holzman makes second run for council seat

Wendy Holzman, 54, a Sisters resident for the past six years, does not give up easily. She ran unsuccessfully for a city council seat two years ago, losing by only 14 votes.

Now she's thrown her hat into the ring again.

Born and raised in Palo Alto, California, Holzman spent her initial college years at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

"This is where I first became involved in community politics," she said.

The unincorporated community of Isla Vista, adjacent to the college, offered many opportunities for Holzman to get involved.

"I became involved with the community council and was on the board of directors of the Isla Vista Food Co-Op. I also volunteered at the medical clinic," said Holzman.

"I really enjoyed what that felt like to give back to your community and to see the great things that people can do when they pull together and work in their community."

After marrying Alan Holzman, also a student at the time, the couple moved to San Francisco to attend San Francisco State University. Alan attained a master's degree, Wendy finished her undergraduate degree.

Finishing their college degrees, the couple moved back down to the "peninsula" where Alan began a career in the computer industry. They also started a family. Their daughter was born in 1984, a son followed in 1987.

"We were lucky in that we were financially able to have me stay home with the kids during their early years. Those years wound up being about 15. I really loved it because I got involved with the kids' schools as a volunteer," she said.

The Holzmans moved to Beaverton, Oregon, in 1989 when Alan joined Sequent Computers. With the children now six and three, Wendy went to work for the Beaverton School District, staying with the district for six years mainly working in library services.

It was during this period that the family was spending summer vacations at Black Butte Ranch. Loving the area, Wendy and Alan began wondering if a move to the Sisters area could be possible.

"Alan's team was international, and we wondered if it would be possible for him to telecommute if we moved to Sisters," said Wendy.

Prior to buying their home, however, Wendy and Alan really checked out the town.

"I walked and biked around town, asking people what they thought about Sisters. People told me what a great community it was, all the wonderful things the community does. That sounded really good to me," said Holzman.

In 2004, as their son was entering his senior year in high school, the family made the move to Sisters. They live in the Buck Run subdivision.

Wendy participated in the 2006 Sisters "visioning" process, a community-wide effort which resulted in the current Sisters Visioning Statement. This process was stimulating for Holzman, motivating her to get more involved with the community.

"This process was eye-opening for me. The facilitator indicated that Sisters was on a 'knife's edge,' it could go one way or the other. I knew I loved this community and wanted it to be a good place to live. So I jumped in and got involved," she said.

Holzman never regretted getting involved. Since the visioning process, she has been the volunteer chair of the Citizens for Community Involvement (CCI), a committee spun out of the visioning process. CCI's purpose is to help the city council better understand the "pulse" of both city and Sisters Country residents.

Wendy also served on a committee that brought two leadership programs to Sisters, The Ford Family Foundation program and a second program geared toward students in the community.

"A lack of leadership training in the community was cited in the visioning process. These two programs trained several people who went on to leadership roles in the community. This was very exciting," said Holzman.

By 2008 Holzman felt it was time to take on a greater leadership role in the community. Running for city council was another eye-opening experience for her.

"It was a different election than Sisters had ever seen. For the first time ever a political action committee (PAC) was formed for a city council race. $12,000 was raised to back their three candidates - Lon Kellstrom, Pat Thompson and Jerry Bogart. It changed how politics was done in the city. Sharlene Weed said she spent $35 four years ago when she ran for city council," said Holzman.

"There's nothing wrong with forming a PAC, it's perfectly legal, but it did set a new tone for the way things were done in Sisters. I was afraid it would discourage everyday citizens from feeling like they could run for city council without the backing of a PAC or a lot of money."

Holzman feels the influence of the PAC's contributors is hard to avoid.

"I would say it's difficult not to be (influenced), especially in the economy right now. My other big concern, beside that, is that I believe a diverse council is a stronger council. Right now we have three councilors who vote, not always, but on major issues have tended to vote as a 'bloc.' Development voices are certainly pieces of the 'pie' and should be represented on the council but I think there are more pieces of the pie that need to be represented," said Holzman.

Holzman is concerned about "economic vitality" versus real estate development in Sisters.

"Real estate development is certainly a part of a community but, especially in these times, it should not be the major part. I attend all city council workshops and meetings and I've noticed that the first lens that decisions are looked (at) through is 'how will development be affected by the decision?'" she said.

Holzman has concerns about the EDCO (Economic Development for Central Oregon) model that has been adopted for the new economic development manager's position recently filled by Mac Hay.

Holzman does not believe trying to lure traded-sector companies (goods and services which are traded out of the area) to Sisters will work in these economic times.

"EDCO works with all communities in Central Oregon. Some of those communities are much better situated with transportation (highways, rail service) and cheaper for them to move into than we are. This should not be, in these economic times, our main focus," said Holzman.

She believes small companies are the key to Sisters' success.

"I think if we can bring in individuals who can work from their homes and telecommute; they bring wealth into the community, they buy things in town; to the small two-to-five to 10-person companies," said Holzman.

Holzman believes a strong "downtown core" is vital to economic development.

"Everything I have read and researched says that a small rural town has to have a vital downtown core to survive. But we don't just want a strong downtown core, we want a strong industrial park too, because they feed off each other," she said.

Regarding the current campaign slogans centered on jobs, Holzman said, "I would love to bring more living-wage jobs in but we've got to be realistic. Two years ago they (Kellstrom, Bogart, Thompson) said they were going to bring jobs in. Well, I haven't seen a lot of jobs come in. In fact we've lost jobs."

Holzman likes the idea of developing companies and jobs within the community.

"I like the idea of working with people to build businesses from the ground level up. I think we can do more of that, as a community, to support businesses and to bring new businesses in," she said.

When asked how she felt the present council has performed over the last two years, Holzman preferred to speak about her decision to run again.

"A man stopped me on the street and indicated that he wanted me to run again. When I asked him why he said, 'Because we don't feel like we're being listened to.' I think for many citizens this set the tone," said Holzman.

The entire interview with Wendy Holzman can be heard on the Sisters Talk podcast located at http://bronco

billysblog.blogspot.com/.