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Copyright © 2012 Doris Gentry  | Paid for by Friends of: Doris Gentry for City Council 2012.  Greg Bennett, Treas.  FPPC# 1348754

These are the top five Things you said are most important to Napa:

Responsive Government with Friendly Customer Service

Safety for Youth from bullying, going to school without fear!

Seniors Protected against Elder Abuse, being honored not destroyed.

Expanded Job Opportunities and Fair Wages so we do not have to move away

Fiscal Oversight, Balanced Budgets, Funded Pensions & Liabilities and Adequate Financial Reserves

1. Responsive Government with Friendly Customer Service You said you want the city to be responsive to any resident who asks for help. Poor quality service is never ok.

When you call or email City Hall, you should be able to reach someone within 24 hours. Businesses do that – so should government. Being responsive by offering good, accurate customer service to you is critical! Under the Gentry leadership all departments and all levels will be responsive and friendly, you deserve the best service possible.

2. Safety for Youth from Bullying, going to school without fear! It is not enough to say we will work for our Youth – we have to stand up and really work to protect youth. They are facing bullying – they are being harassed! They are our future leaders, future Mayors and Council Members.

On the Council, you want members who understand, support and encourage youth to become good, responsible citizens like you. You want someone to provide a safety net for the most vulnerable. If you are a youth in Napa, ‘Hip Hip Hooray to you!’, you matter and always will. Gentry will work with schools, counselors and police & community service officers to meet needs and make sure youth feel safe.

As a child growing up in 30 foster homes before becoming independent at the age of 14, it is second nature to understand what hurting and abused teens face. Growing up poor, barefoot, forced to wear clothes that were too big/small, laughed at - that is a terrible place to be. Bullied, beaten & robbed. Being a victim is absolutely unacceptable!

Jim & Doris Gentry have had 100 teen foster boys living with them home over these past 18 years – they can tell you first hand how youth live, think and breathe.

Napa needs to get serious, to act serious, and to invest in the future of Napa youth. There needs to be things for youth to do. Create places they can go. Youth are leaders of tomorrow – we owe it to them to invest today. Placing police on corners to monitor and intimidate this population is not offering them the foundation they need.

More opportunities for recreation, sports complex centers, indoor/outdoor activities, Boys & Girls Clubs, VOICES and Cybermill Technology Campuses – these are ways to engage our future leaders – Gentry is ready to find funds for this – are you ready to support her?

3. Senior protection against elder abuse, being honored not destroyed – not only from those who would abuse them physically or financially – but seniors also need protection from burdensome costs that erode their dwindling resources. Elder abuse is on the rise and as the cost of living rises elders are falling prey.

Here is the story of Doris’ friend Ann. Right now Gentry manages her finances. Ann owned a Napa home by the Outlet Mall and sold it, down-sized to a condo in the Imola Avenue Area; she lost that and became homeless. Bounced from couch to couch, then her family asked Doris to become her guardian with Power of Attorney. Today Ann is at Redwood Retirement; bills paid and a tiny bit is in savings. She was a victim of elder abuse and it took many people to get Ann upright after those four years of crisis.

How many other Ann’s are there in Napa? Gentry wants to help them to continue living a full life. Napa owes it to seniors to treat them with honor and dignity!

If you are a senior in Napa, please hear Doris saying – She has no tolerance for people who prey on our Senior Community – Doris takes care of Ann and she will look out for you – you have a right to be safe, protected and appreciated. Doris promises to work beside you as your City Council Leader!

4. Expanded Job Opportunities and Fair Wages so our Kids do not have to move away:  Decent paying jobs for our kids and their kids. Jim and Doris have 6 grandkids. Yes Napa needs jobs, but not low-paying minimum wage jobs that force its workers to live in government housing in another county. Napa needs jobs that pay a better wage for residents.

Don’t YOU want leadership that understands the challenges workers are facing with job loss and home foreclosure? Jim & Doris have faced financial difficulty these past four years – times have been really tough. For a while they were behind in their home mortgage. Finally they were able to catch up – having been there; it is easy to tell you that Doris’ goal is to help create decent paying jobs and focus on job retraining.

Everyone promises jobs, how is the Gentry promise any different? Many years ago, she bought into a temporary help agency in the LA area and grew it from employing 40 men a week to 2,500 people a week. In only 3 years they were producing 30,000 W-2’s using a brand new company called ADT payroll processing.

DORIS KNOWS WHAT WORKS!

Napa needs and deserves a thriving business community that supports its efforts to build on Napa’s history and invests in commercial developments that complement that history, like the Napa Mill and the Riverfront Renaissance.

Balance is the key; Gentry respects the need to protect Napa’s beauty – its hills, rivers, parks, water supply so that our grandchildren and their grandchildren can be assured of a healthy environment.

Good, living wage jobs require thought, planning and thinking outside the box. Innovation, clear-thinking and a willingness to try harder has always been her motto. Now she is offering to put that same, “Can-Do” spirit to work for the City of Napa.

Can you support four years of that?

Teaching foster parenting classes at Napa Valley College and teaching high school math in Vallejo has allowed Doris to train others, it is not something she does, it is WHO she is, she is following the lineage of her past, teaching is leadership and it is in her genes! Doris will put new ideas to work and will train a new crop of leaders to follow suit.

Wouldn’t it be great if PTA leaders were groomed by forming a Napa leadership training academy for them to learn how to serve on nonprofit boards, how to seek appointments to city committees and how to run for public office? That is the city Doris wants for her legacy.

5. And finally, Fiscal Oversight, Balanced Budgets & Adequate Financial Reserves Napa needs leaders who get the job done without spending the city into bankruptcy like Vallejo in 2008 and Stockton as well as Lincoln, Hercules and Half Moon Bay.  

Doris will not shy away from bold action and strong choices to bring about the most solvent and sound financial decisions for Napa.

What does any family do when faced with a tight budget?

What do you do?

What does any business do when sales are down & employees must be paid?

Like Napa, they must do more with less!

Consolidation of Services with Napa County is one option. But there are others:

invest more wisely;

shop for better pricing;

do more joint purchasing

AND more, you have ideas, please share them!

Many say that Napa is ok and the budget balanced. But Last year, the Council authorized nearly $8 million paid from reserves to fill its budget shortfall. Where Doris comes from dipping into reserves is not meeting your operating expenses. Using savings is not living within means.

Revenues must be balanced with expenses; it must. Napa needs leaders that get the job done without spending the city into bankruptcy.

Currently, the city has a $3.3 million deficit and plans to use employee concessions to fill $1.5 million and cut operating expenses by $1.8 million.

These are perilous times and within this economic crisis come opportunities.

This next four years needs a “Get the job done” person. Whether it’s organizing a parade, teaching parents how to become foster parents, teaching high school math or turning around a bankrupt business, Doris has “been there, done that to coin an Australian saying from 1983.

Having directed an employment agency that put 30,000 people to work, “been there, done that”!

Having created 450 new jobs for a five-county planning commission as director of business development for the Southeastern Illinois Regional Planning and Development Commission, “been there, done that”!

Having balanced a budget as a Small Business Administration funder of grants and loans for hundreds of Southern Illinois companies, lending millions over six years, Doris knows what good investments look like and how public funds can be saved and protected, “been there done that”!

As Harry S. Truman said, ‘The buck stops here.’ That is the motto of Gentry’s life, having always been unafraid to stand up, step up and man up. Confident to accept responsibility, take on leadership and to delegate power and authority to support others, companies and governments, those are her strengths. She has a proven track-record of accomplishments that span over 30 years. A proven leader with a heritage to lead.

In the next four years and beyond, Gentry promises to pay attention to the top five things you said are most important to Napa:

1. Responsive Government with Friendly Customer Service – Did it before for five counties!
2. Safety for Youth from bullying ~ going to school without fear! Worked with youth in Napa for 18 years.
3. Seniors Protected against Elder Abuse, being honored not destroyed. Work with seniors in Napa these past 6 years and shocked at all there is yet to do.
4. Expanded Job Opportunities and Fair Wages so people do not have to move away, creating jobs has been Doris’ life for over 30 years.
5. Fiscal Oversight, Balanced Budgets, Funded Pensions & Liabilities and Adequate Financial Reserves, that apple does not fall far from the tree, it is in Doris’ genes to lead, serve and step out.

Treasuring and protecting Napa is in her bones, today is your chance to choose Doris Gentry for Napa City Council!

Gentry announces run for Napa City Council

Foster parent, teacher and community organizer Doris Gentry announced Thursday she plans to be elected the newest Napa City Council Member on Nov. 6th.

"I know how to get things done," Gentry said during her announcement ceremony in front of dozens of well-wishers at Redwood Retirement Residence, the home of one of her closest friends Ann.

Gentry, who has owned several businesses and served as a five-county Regional Planning Director, said she will work hard for balance between business needs and residents' concerns.

"As a business and planning director who worked with public-private partnerships for city infrastructure, corporate financing & residential concerns; solutions for Cities became my passion," said Gentry, who has lived in Napa more than 20 years.

"I love Napa and want to serve residents." Gentry said. Known locally for chairing Napa's annual Fourth of July Parade and teaching foster parenting classes at Napa Valley College, Gentry is also a foster mom who housed more than 100 teens. An advocate for youth and seniors, Gentry serves as a fundraiser for children's non-profit programs and has served United Way, Catholic Charities, Napa Sunrise Rotary, Foster Care and COPE Family Center.

Gentry will host town meetings called "Think Napa" during the campaign, offering residents a forum.

"What would you do if you were a leader in Napa? How would you change this town?" she asked. Gentry said she will listen and take notes during the "Think Napa" events with an eye toward working on behalf of Napa's residents.

Gentry told her supporters, "So far, the top five things you said are most important to Napa are:

1. Responsive government with friendly and prompt customer service.
2. Safety for youth from bullying and gangs
3. Protecting seniors from elder abuse.
4. Expanded job opportunities and fair wages
5. Fiscal oversight, balanced budgets and adequate financial reserves."

"As Harry Truman said, 'the buck stops here.' That is the motto of my life, to stand up, step up and accept responsibility. Accepting leadership, delegating power and defining authority to support public and private partnerships are my strengths."

"In the next four years and beyond, I promise to pay attention to the top concerns important to Napa."

"Napa needs leaders who get the job done without spending the city into bankruptcy," she told supporters. "Elders need protection from those who would abuse them physically, emotionally or financially - and from burdensome costs that erode dwindling resources."

Gentry introduced her friend Ann, a resident of Redwood Retirement Residence, who said Gentry "has been like a sister to me. She's a good counselor and always has time for me in spite of her busy schedule."

"Finally, it is not enough to say we will work for our youth - we also have to protect our youth who are being bullied and harassed," Gentry said.

Gentry's campaign kickoff party will be held Tuesday, Aug. 21 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Napa General Store. For more information about the Gentry event and the Gentry for City Council campaign, email Doris at doris@dorisgentry.com

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