Furst Ready To Take Fight To Incumbent Supervisor

Diane Furst is being pulled deeper and deeper into the political arena, but she says she's ready to meet any challenges.

"It's interesting. This has always been in the back of my mind," Furst said after announcing her entry in the race for the Marin County Board of Supervisors seat for District 4. "A couple of things happened within the past couple weeks that really brought it to the front. I started getting calls from people begging me to run. A lot of people are dissatisfied with what's going on with the Board of Supervisors. Also, I have been dissatisfied with the way the Board of Supervisors are handling things."

Corte Madera's vice-mayor since just after the November elections, Furst is the lone challenger to incumbent Steve Kinsey, who is seeking a fifth term in office.

"District 4 deserves better leadership and I can provide that leadership," Furst said.

Kinsey has represented District 4 since 1997 after he was elected to succeed the retiring Gary Giacomini.

Furst says she would like to see the Board of Supervisors "take a fresh, new approach" to ensure Marin County has a responsive and transparent government.

Kinsey's homepage on the Board of Supervisors site says "I've always felt that clear communication is the essential ingredient in strengthening public policy."

Furst has been involved with the Transportation Authority of Marin since joining the Corte Madera Town Council in 2009 and currently serves on the Sustainable Communities Strategy and the Greenbrae Corridor ad-hoc committees.

Furst's campaign platform includes environmental protection, pension reform and a plan to "increase public transit to West Marin and Central Marin. We need better solutions for other transportation issues. … The Greenbrae Corridor improvement project, for example. I'm not pleased with that. … I'm concerned about the impact of the flyover. It's huge."

Furst has developed a reputation among her supporters as a fiery and passionate individual. She counts among her recent accomplishments Corte Madera's divorce with the Association of Bay Area Governments. She now hopes other Marin governments will follow Corte Madera's lead.

"I'm proud to identify and call out the big issues surrounding the One Bay Area Plan," Furst said. "Months ago, I called ABAG and asked to take a look at their numbers. I was told the numbers weren't (available). The Board of Supervisors asked them to explain their numbers as well (just recently)."

Furst is planning a $35-per-head fundraiser on April 15 at her home.