Meet the Roseville City Council Candidates: Pauline Roccucci

Editor's Note — This is the last in a series of Roseville City Council candidate profiles. Seven people are running in the Nov. 6 election; three seats are available. Read more about candidates in our Election Guide here.

Mayor Pauline Roccucci said former Roseville Mayor Baron Reed is partially to thank for her involvement in local politics. Reed, who served as mayor in the 1907s, was the youngest mayor at the time, a family friend and encouraged Roccucci’s husband to join the planning commission.

At the time, the Roccuccis were newlyweds in Roseville and Roccucci would keep her husband company during some of his planning commission duties. Shortly after, Roccucci joined the planning commission too – her first experience in local politics. She was in her 20s at the time and has been active ever since.

“Barron Reed showed us how we could really be a part of the community,” she said.

Roccucci served two terms on Roseville City Council from 1989 to 1998 and served as mayor from 1989 to 1991. Her current Council term began in 2009 and she’s served as mayor since 2011.

Roccucci is one of seven candidates running for Roseville City Council during the Nov. 6 election.

Roccucci said she decided to run for re-election because she has a desire to continue serving.

“I have a lot of experience behind me that I can still use,” she said. “I’m looking forward to continuing to serve the community.”

If re-elected, Roccucci said she plans to focus on three priorities: Continue to have a balanced budget and “fiscally solvent finances,” to stay transparent in City activities, including finances, and to continue to have a healthy and safe community.

City transparency is important to Roccucci in aspects not just related to finances, but also alerting residents to meetings such as discussions about potential roundabouts and keeping locals updated on the Roseville Community Development Corporation, or RCDC, she said. 

During her current time on the Roseville City Council, Roccucci said she’s most proud of being able to assist in the City’s balanced budget during a down economy, keeping local libraries open and limiting the amount of City employee layoffs.

As for attracting a university to Roseville, Roccucci said it’s something leaders have been interested in for a while now, but current councilmembers have gone further in making it a possibility in the near future.

“We took that extra step. We added educators to the task force,” she said.

Roccucci said she and councilmembers are open to considering satellite campuses or starting small and building up once the economy improves. No matter how a university gets its start in Roseville, Roccucci said it would be an added benefit.

“Schools always have classes to take at any age,’ she said. “It’s another aspect of learning …and I’ll never stop learning.”

It will also create additional cultural amenities like sports, arts and other programs in Roseville, she said.

When Roccucci isn’t serving as Mayor and on Roseville City Council, she works as a nurse at Mercy San Juan Medical Center and spends time with her four children and six grandchildren, who all live in Roseville and the Placer County area. She also takes frequent road trips with her family to Bodega Bay to relax on the coast.

To learn more about Roccucci’s campaign, visit her website here.

You can read more about Roccucci in a candidate-provided profile here.

For more local election coverage, see our Election Guide 2012 topic page here.
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