Kelly Dunleavy O'Mara, Patch Staff

<b>Email </b>kellyd&#64;patch.com

<b>Phone </b>415-378-6134

<b>Birthday </b>My birthday is the same day as D-Day.

<b>twitter.com/RossValleyPatch</b>

<b>facebook.com/SanAnselmoFairfaxPatch</b>

<b>Bio </b>

I moved from Chicago to California to study International Political Economics at Cal. I don&#39;t use that degree very often now and I didn&#39;t leave California. I recently bought my first home at the base of the Sleepy Hollow-Terra Linda ridge, which is vastly underrated.

Before coming to Patch, I was the editor of the Ross Valley Reporter, where I got to know the Ross Valley community and came to appreciate San Anselmo and Fairfax.

Along with running the San Anselmo-Fairfax Patch, I also compete as a professional triathlete. And believe it or not, spending all my free time biking in West Marin, running up at the watershed, and swimming at College of Marin doesn&#39;t leave a lot of time for other hobbies. My other interests include speed-reading magazines, cable TV, and desserts. I am a very knowledgeable connoisseur of brownie sundaes. Feel free to email me for local recommendations.

<b>Your Beliefs</b>

<i>At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for you to inject your beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that your beliefs are on the record will cause you to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know.</i>

<b>Politics </b>

<i>How would you describe your political beliefs?</i>

My family jokes that I&#39;m the only libertarian socialist in existence, but I think they&#39;re kidding. I generally believe that people should be able to do whatever they want as long as it doesn&#39;t hurt anyone else, which is a fairly big caveat. I also believe we must pay for the services we&#39;re provided – roads, schools, police – and, in return, we have a right to accountability and transparency from our government.

<i>Are you registered with a certain party?</i>

I&#39;m registered decline to state.

<b>Religion</b>

<i>How religious would you consider yourself? (casual, observant, devout, non religious)</i>

My parents raised us non-religiously, but my sister just graduated as an honors student in religious studies. Go figure.

<b>Local Hot-Button Issues</b>

<i>What do you think are the most important issues facing the community?</i>

Almost all the hot topics in our community, whether new schools or Marin Clean Energy, stem from the issue of growth.

How can we preserve our small-town feel as more and more people move into the area? How can we preserve those things the community values? The people who move here are attracted by the types of things that make San Anselmo and Fairfax special, such as our open space, but how can we maintain that open space and at the same time provide affordable housing for all our residents, as mandated by the state.

As more people discover the joys of our communities, we&#39;re going to be increasingly confronted with issues like these and have to find our own kind of balance.

<i>Where do you stand on each of these issues?</i>

I moved here a few years ago, because I valued the character of San Anselmo and Fairfax and I don&#39;t want to see them turn into something they&#39;re not. I don&#39;t think we, as a community, want to become overdeveloped suburban sprawl.

But, I studied economics and I appreciate and recognize the benefit of business growth, tourism and revitalization, particularly with respect to some of our high unemployment numbers. We&#39;ll just have to tread carefully and be smart.