Pleasant Hill Candidate Profile - Matthew Rinn

Patch: Why are you running for Pleasant Hill City Council?

Matthew Rinn: I am running for Pleasant Hill City Council because a person can make a difference. I have built my reputation and business in Pleasant Hill by helping others improve their quality of life. I look to strengthen the business community by not only attracting great new businesses but continuing to help the ones we have. Crime is on the rise and I will work closely with our police department to create ways to reverse these statistics. As a business person, I bring a mindset of operating the city finances as such; insuring ensuring that we are responsible and transparent; and by soliciting input into our planning for the future

Patch: What are the top three issues you see facing the city, and how would you address them? 

Matthew Rinn: 

1.        Maintaining and improving the quality of life for the community of Pleasant Hill. In these difficult economic times certain revenue sources are not keeping pace while expenses are increasing. We must look for ways to increase our revenues without impacting the budgets of our community. With my experience in the business community, I look to attract new businesses and help grow the ones we have. There are several existing areas we have that could really use some fixing up like the Kmart shopping center by DVC. We have a great opportunity to improve that area and capitalize on the several thousand students and attract people from outside of Pleasant Hill to spend their money here thus generating more revenue for the business owners and the city. By improving the business community and keeping our dollars here and attracting people to our shopping districts we will be able to better serve the community with services.

2.         Safety-We need to make sure that our police department is in a position to attract qualified officers to our city and retain the ones we have. Certain crime rates are on the rise and we need to make sure we are staffed accordingly. Also, we need to look at what I call safety zones around our local schools and parks and improve them. Many of the areas have limited crosswalks, sidewalks, speed deterrents and poor traffic flows. If you have ever tried to drop off, pick up your kids, or just get through an area at those times you understand.

3.         Pensions, staffing levels, and balancing the budget- With the recent passage of AB 340 signed by the Governor the current CalPERS system will be seeing some significant changes. At this juncture the impact of that legislation will not be fully evident for some time. We will be faced with balancing meeting the needs of our community, honoring the commitment of our city employees, and being financially responsible to the future of our city. I look forward to working with both sides of this issue.

Patch: What are the three best things about living in Pleasant Hill? 

Matthew Rinn: 

1. The People- I love the small town feel. The amount of support that people have for making this community what it is really inspires me. It’s nice to walk around the community and people have a genuine quality about caring for their neighbors and community at large. We have had instances in my family’s life where emergencies have popped up and the support from neighbors and friends has been amazing.

2. The variety of businesses- I love all the local businesses that have been here for years. You can walk in and everyone knows your name and get that good old fashioned service. I also appreciate the downtown district, it’s nice to grab dinner, a movie and even a treat afterwards. I really hope to attract even more variety to complement our existing community.

3. The community events-Whether it’s the Art, Jazz and Wine Festival, Blues and Brews Festival, Light up the Night, Foundation for Pleasant Hill Education Restaurant Walks, Cancer Relay Walks, Community Service Day, all the Crab Feeds and many more. Thousands of volunteer hours are put in to make Pleasant Hill a better place. From being in some capacity as a sponsor, volunteer or committee member or all three sometimes, I have really gotten to see the spirit of Pleasant Hill and the changes that can be accomplished.

Patch: What are the three worst things? 

Matthew Rinn:

1. The condition of some of the homes. As I walk the neighborhoods, you have homes where people have put in a lot of time and energy and they are well maintained and add to the charm of Pleasant Hill. While next door you have several cars that look like they have been sitting in the driveway for decades, the yards are dead and the amount of clutter presents a safety hazard for any delivery person to come on the property

2. The condition of our roads- Many neighborhoods still don’t have sidewalks and the streets where people are having to walk pose walking hazards. Several kids are having to walk to schools in the streets.  Pleasant Hill is an active community and we need to make it a priority for the safety of the people who enjoy walking.

3. Missed opportunities- We have many areas like the old Blondie’s Pizza on the corner of Taylor and Contra Costa Blvd and the Kmart shopping center at DVC that could be great opportunities to bring business and consumers to Pleasant Hill, but we are not currently capitalizing on those opportunities.

Patch: If you win a seat, how will you keep in touch with your constituents for the next four years? 

Matthew Rinn: As a business owner here I am engaged in various forms of social media, active at community events, and as your councilperson will hold town hall meetings and regular office hours.