Orinda, CA -- Saying he wants to be a voice for fiscal responsibility and a champion for public education, Orinda City Councilmember Steve Glazer announced today (January 29, 2013) that he has opened a committee to become a candidate for the California State Assembly.
Glazer, a two-term Mayor of Orinda and a California State University Trustee, will run in District 16, which includes parts of Contra Costa and Alameda counties. This seat will be vacated by Assembly Member Joan Buchanan in 2014.
Glazer said he will take to the Assembly a strong track record in public service and recognized leadership in protecting the environment, supporting local schools and ensuring that government lives within its means.
As a local elected official, now serving in his third City Council term, Glazer has prioritized community services and infrastructure.
As a member of the CSU Board of Trustees, he is working to limit tuition increases and to lower administrative costs.
As an Assembly member, Glazer said, he will continue to make government more efficient and accountable.
“I want to continue the momentum for responsible fiscal management while enhancing support of our local schools and state universities,” Glazer said. “We need to eliminate roadblocks to economic revitalization and job creation and improve efforts to protect and enhance our environment.
“For too long, the legislative process has been a captive of the extremes of both political parties. We need to elect problem solvers who can bring disparate interests together to forge a common ground.”
Glazer has operated his own small business since 1989, serving as a consultant to companies, associations and elected officials on public policy issues. He has been an advisor to Governor Brown for the past three years.
Glazer has been recognized for outstanding contributions to local schools. He has co-chaired two successful funding measures for the Orinda Schools and has been recognized by the Orinda Union School District and Association of California School Administrators, Region 6 for distinguished service to education.
Glazer has worked on open space preservation measures in more than 25 states. He has successfully led efforts to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for permanent open space lands in California. He has been recognized by The Trust For Public Land and Save The Bay for his conservation work.
The problems of homelessness and affordable housing have been a three-decade concern of Glazer. He has organized campaigns that have provided billions of dollars for homeless shelters and affordable housing as well as residences for abused women and foster children. The City of Orinda broke ground this month on an affordable senior housing village. He provided important assistance to the City of Lafayette for its affordable housing project.
Glazer is married to Melba Muscarolas, an AT&T executive. They have two daughters.
Nearly 30 years ago, Glazer created the California campaign to place pictures of missing children on milk cartons, grocery bags and billboards while working as an aide to then-Assemblyman Gray Davis. The effort was credited with finding more than one dozen lost children.
His involvement in Orinda politics was sparked by a 2003 incident in which he was shot in the neck by a high-powered pellet rifle while driving with his family. The .17-caliber projectile just missed his carotid artery and lodged next to his spine. The perpetrator was caught but never charged with a crime because pellet guns were classified as toys in the criminal code.
After recovering from his injury, Glazer worked with then-Senator Tom Torlakson to author legislation establishing penalties for pellet-gun attacks. The bill was signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Glazer was elected to the Orinda City Council in 2004 and has been re-elected twice. He has twice been selected mayor by his Council colleagues.
Orinda was recently recognized by Forbes Magazine as the Friendliest Town in California and the second most friendly city in the United States. The criteria included public safety, philanthropy, home ownership and education.
Steve Glazer's campaign website is Glazer4Assembly.com
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