MY CURRENT SERVICE
- Current Vice Mayor (Town Council) of San Anselmo
- Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) Commissioner, and member of TAM Administration, Projects & Planning Executive Committee
- Marin County Council of Mayors and Councilmembers (MCCMC), Co-Chair of Ad-Hod Economic Recovery Committee
- Reimagine Creek Park Project: “Morphing a flood control project into a major new town amenity was the brainchild of Colbert.” – Dick Spotswood, Marin IJ
- Marin Transit, Board Member
- Marin Economic Recovery Task Force
I’m currently Vice-Mayor of San Anselmo and have been on Town Council since being elected in 2017.I’m passionate about our town and proud to have served our community during the past two and half years, partnering with San Anselmo’s active commissions, many residents, and other stakeholders. I take my commitment to be accessible and responsive to all my constituents very seriously and have proven this.
While I’ve accomplished much with the community to date, my most noteworthy contribution to our town is spearheading the process to reimagine Creek Park. A San Anselmo Community Advisory Committee, Reimagine Creek Park, has partnered with our Town Staff and the County to create this commons in the heart of San Anselmo’s downtown. This project leverages the County’s long-overdue flood mitigation work to create a space to foster economic vitality while enabling locals to gather and safely social-distance outdoors.
Additionally, since the advent of the pandemic and shelter-in-place, I’ve been extremely active and busy with the re-opening and recovery process here in Marin County and San Anselmo. I was appointed to the Marin Recovers Steering Committee. This county-level group is responsible for guiding and communicating the County’s re-opening plan in response to Covid-19. I was also appointed to the steering committee of Marin Economic Recovery Task Force, which is aimed at helping our Marin County’s economy weather this pandemic by focusing on our small businesses. I also Co-Chair the Marin County Council of Mayors and Councilmembers’Ad-Hoc Economic Recovery Committee.
We are facing extremely challenging times and San Anselmo’s economic vitality is intimately tied to the economy of Marin County. I maintain my optimistic outlook and am honored to contribute to the overall effort of re-opening and recovery.
We have much work ahead of us, let’s keep engaging as a community. I respectfully ask for your vote to continue our work.
Read on for more about my background and family.
MY BACKGROUND
I learned the importance of civic engagement from my mom and dad.They raised me in the small, tightly knit community of Bethel, Connecticut, where my mother was actively involved in my school and my father served on several town committees.
After studying political science at Oberlin College, I went to the University of Chicago where I receive a law degree and a Masters in Public Policy. For five years I was a corporate attorney before pursuing more entrepreneurial endeavors and starting my own family.
After our daughter was born, my wife, Nihal, and I moved to San Anselmo for the same reasons that a lot of young families do: the quality of life and great public schools. We were also lucky enough to find and send our daughter to San Anselmo Pre-School (SAPS). San Anselmo also has an excellent selection of private schools offering a variety of approaches to instruction.
With my background in law and public policy, it wasn’t long before I got involved in our town government. I joined the San Anselmo Economic Development Committee (EDC) because I wanted to use my experience in business to help our local businesses thrive.
Through my work on the EDC I learned that a lot of people in our town feel disconnected from the San Anselmo town government and especially the Town Council.
In a small tightly knit community like ours everyone should understand how the Town Council works for them be able to have a voice in how our town is run.
WHAT DOES TOWN COUNCIL DO?
How are laws made? How are they enforced?Town Council is the legislative body responsible for setting the vision for the town, town policies, and adopting the town budget. The San Anselmo Town Council is composed of five members elected by the entire community. The Town Manager answers directly to the council and implements and oversees policy.
Our Town Council represents our local community on matters of concern to stakeholders such as residents and local businesses. These include planning and monitoring (e.g., Community Facilities Master plan, Median Master Plan), service delivery such as local road maintenance and the public library, lawmaking and enforcement (e.g., land use, noise, housing), open space, and more. The Council can also prioritize areas such as measures to improve bike and pedestrian safety, and reinforcing economic health by showing support for business and economic sustainability.
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