My name is Carissa Pillow. I am a wife, a mother, a registered nurse and a passionate resident of Brentwood. It is my pleasure today to announce that I will be running as a candidate for Brentwood’s City Council.
I am a small-town girl through and through. I was raised in a small Ohio town, where life was simple and relatively uncomplicated. As a very young woman, I was blessed to meet and marry my husband, Lee. Shortly after we married, we had our only son, Michael.
Lee and I spent a good period of time in Georgetown, Texas, where Lee finished his service in the Army. While in Texas, I went to nursing school. I became a RN and started the career that feeds my soul. I have been serving my community as a registered nurse for 13 years.
Seven years ago, Lee and I handpicked Brentwood as the community to raise our son, as we love Brentwood’s small-town charm. I am proud to have worked at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek as a Trauma/Neuroscience Critical Care nurse since moving here seven years ago. Eventually, my husband and I hope to retire and help raise our future grandchildren here. We have loved every moment in Brentwood, and have formed wonderful lifelong friendships. To us, Brentwood is the American Dream.
In the last seven years, I have seen some changes in Brentwood that concern me deeply. Our family and our community have felt the impact of short sales, bankruptcies, foreclosures and small-business closures. We’ve watched houses and shops sitting empty for years on end. Having come to understand the source of these financial tragedies, I feel a calling to serve my community by representing the concerns of Brentwood’s residents on Brentwood’s City Council. I have true passion for Brentwood, and it is my absolute honor to serve Brentwood by sharing a fresh perspective and new ideas that will shape our community in the future.
I feel there are several topics that need to be addressed from a fresh perspective:
• We need high-paying jobs in Brentwood.
• We need fair business practice across the board to create a climate for job creation.
• We need more police and more support for our police to fight property theft and home invasion.
• We need to keep the city’s budget balanced and maintain the city’s financial reserve.
• We need more transparency and outreach to you, the residents.
• We need a unifying theme for Brentwood that ties the various sections of the community together and encourages community togetherness and participation.
• We need an eat-local, buy-local campaign to retain sales tax revenue in Brentwood and attract consumers from surrounding areas.
• We need activities for our teens and for our adults, like community gardens and a teen center.
My pledge: I am concerned about the health of Brentwood today and tomorrow. We have issues here in Brentwood. We have challenges that must be addressed with intelligence and grace. As your City Council member, I promise to listen and approach concerns with fresh ideas that will benefit all of us.
Please browse my website at www.carissapillow2012.com. If you are interested in participating on the campaign team, please call 925-222-5474, or e-mail me at carissa@carissapillow2012.com.
As your representative, I promise to always be approachable and interested in navigating the waters of public policy thoughtfully. I will not forget whom I represent: us, the residents of Brentwood. Thank you for your consideration!
Carissa Pillow, Brentwood
You nailed what I was about to say. In addition Mrs. Pillows mentioned that there was no need to duplicate efforts by sending fire to medical calls and now it only certain calls.It's a different stance now?
So by only selective EMS calls then how will this be done? An example may be that a 60's year old falls in a store and an ambulance only is sent however this may of been due to a major heart attack or a stroke etc.
Just in my opinion only, Mrs pillows may be saying what she must to get herself a city seat and that it scary in itself.
I didn't mention the Fire Department here, because fire is a district issue. My position on fire: The Fire Board is trending toward an elected board or an appointed citizen's board. Neither of these boards will be subject to influence of council members soon. And, yes, I believe there is a perceived duplication of services on low level medical calls. My feeling is that Fire should only be dispatched to medical calls of high acuity such as confirmed man down, life, limb and extrication service calls. This action would save the fire department money, stop duplication of services and prevent Fire services from being diverted from true emergencies such as structure fires and life or limb calls. I support our Firemen 110% and have a great deal of respect for the role they play in saving lives. My only goal with Fire is to help find a solution that will work for Brentwood and for the District.
That is not what you said in your blog a few weeks back. You made it a Brentwood issue, not a District issue.
You wrote:
"I am gravely concerned about the fire district. Our homes are surrounded by dry grass and we live in a community with a large senior population. This city can not risk it’s safety for this failed fire district. We should leave the ECC Fire district, go local and recreate the Brentwood Fire District. I’m sure the fiscal impact is prohibitive. And I’m sure we’ll face litigation. But when coalition with other communities fail due to questionable leadership decisions; we must take action! The worst thing we can do is sit and wait. Inaction is the worst action that we can take. We must, at the very least, look take a hard look at walking away from this mess."
Maybe you have changed your stance after learning more about the District?