Ryan O'Neil

Criminal Justice / Public Safety Communities across the United States are grappling with these two urgent and interconnected issues. The Covid pandemic and the opioids epidemic have exacerbated homelessness and intensified its consequences for mental health, public safety and sanitation. Marin County and the 2nd District are not immune to these problems. Solutions require new models of teamwork, empathy, and health care involving every relevant department of public service so that we solve the needs of the unhoused, address addiction, and restore public safety to our parks and playgrounds. As successful models elsewhere have shown, coherent service delivery approaches ease the burdens on our emergency response services and criminal justice system. Housing We need solutions to affordable housing in Marin County – especially for the people who serve our communities: teachers, nurses, public servants and low-income workers. This is an urgent necessity, but also a huge opportunity to transform public spaces like decaying malls into new and vibrant communities. The rapid innovations driven by climate change, along with post-pandemic shifts in workplace norms, create possibilities for unlimited creativity in community design. At its best, such renewal is driven more effectively through inclusive local planning and public-private partnerships than through state mandates. Education In my work on the Ross Valley School Board and STAND With Ross Valley Schools, I have been a persistent defender of public schools and teachers unions. I led efforts to prevent public funds from being redirected to Charter Schools. We still have a long way to go to ensure fair and effective working conditions and financial security for our public educators while providing the best possible education for our children.