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Mary Hufty

for

Portola Valley Town Council

Rural Values with a Conscience

What I Intend To Do

If elected, I will:

• Recognize the Town’s watershed moment when facing our need for a mixed priced housing stock…Assure adequate infrastructure for residents present and future… Junior ADU’s and ADU’s must be set back safely for fire defense in our fire-prone community.
  • Attorney General Bonta Issues Guidance to Local Governments to Mitigate Wildfire Risk from Proposed Developments in Fire-Prone Areas
• Embrace our community’s strengths following our solid General Plan for a small rural community.
• Encourage fiscal integrity and transparency with an annual audit, overseen by an Audit Committee separate from the Finance Committee and Town staff, in order to insure independent oversight.
• Ensure that safety is prioritized over development… that fire, earthquake, and flood resilience receives comprehensive attention with completed emergency evacuation exercises and triage rehearsals.
  • Complete an Evacuation Plan and implement an Evacuation Program before the next fire season.
  • Acknowledge the Moritz map as the best available fire hazard assessment of Portola Valley that we have available at this time.
  • Correct the draft Safety and Housing Elements so our policies are based on our best data — the Moritz map — as they have been since 2010.
  • Update the General Plan when better fire hazard assessments become available.
• Embrace the quiet and the dark night skies that have remained in Portola Valley thanks to the careful crafting of our building guidelines… Renew our commitment to the environment and the role that animals and plants play in our health.
• Avoid the excessive use of outside consultants that are not attuned to Portola Valley’s assets.
• Support our astounding system of trail and conservation easements which is both aesthetic and democratic…and support our land’s wildlife green connections into surrounding open space.
• Recognize and connect our trail system to the larger trail systems in the Bay Area and beyond.
• Achieve an equitable and consistent housing plan with adequate town-based building inspection and safety oversight… administered efficiently, consistently and even-handedly to large and small property owners alike, under the guidance of the Town General Plan.
• Foster a respect for the Home Owners Associations within our town.
• Respect and strengthen the character of a unique engaged, rural community, imperiled by climate change and fire risk, situated on the cutting edge of a powerful, rapidly growing academic and industrial complex.
• Recognize the positive effects we can have on climate change by protecting our watersheds and wetlands, maintaining our open spaces, and engaging the community in environmental science to lead the Bay area towards a more verdant future.
• Work quickly towards carbon neutrality
• Encourage and respect the independence of Town Committees to bring issues and solutions to the Council’s attention.

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Qualifications

• Town Volunteerism
• Advocacy
• Professional
• Mary in the News
• Endorsements
• Supporters
• Candidate Statement and Positions and Voter Call to Action

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Town Volunteerism

Embodying the best of a Portola Valley Volunteer

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Advocacy

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Professional

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Mary in the News

Passionately outspoken

Five running for three seats on PV Town Council

Seeking broader representation, longtime Portola Valley resident joins council race

Portola Valley woman adopts tortoise refugees

Portola Valley trail named in honor of Admiral Quilter

Portola Valley: Residents’ letter raises alarm over Stanford housing proposal

Portola Valley: Town to spray herbicides on trails despite objections

Portola Valley: location of Town Hall puts town budget in limbo

Portola Valley town debate: setting term limits for committee chairs

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What People Are Saying

A real advocate for wildfire resiliency…Mary wants to see real progress in the Town’s fire prevention measures and is ready to roll up her sleeves and work with the fire department to initiate new fuel reduction projects throughout PV and tackle perfecting a community wildfire evacuation plan. She would make an effective Council person.

– Retired Woodside Fire Marshal, Denise Enea

In 1964, after nine years of intense study and discussion, the residents of this valley voted to incorporate, allowing them to make their own local decisions that maintained respect for the environment and for the rural ambiance. Now that self-rule is being tested. It is up to us, with leadership from the council, to come together to form plans that allow for meeting the challenges of modern problems without losing that prized legacy. Mary Hufty’s voice on the council would be important to those discussions. 

– Nancy Lund, Town Historian

My Dad (Bill Lane) would be so proud of Mary for rising to the challenges of these times with a good heart, clear mind and a deep love for what makes Portola Valley unique.

– Brenda Lane Munks

I enthusiastically endorse Mary for a seat on our Town Council. Mary is a consensus builder with a deep understanding of the issues facing our community. I respect Mary’s appreciation of our environment and her commitment to addressing the needs of all community members including those without a voice. It has been a delight to work with Mary on our trail system and I believe our community will benefit from her years of experience working with various agencies and community members to build and maintain connections to our environment and to each other.

– Gary Hanning, Chair, Trails and Paths Committee / Trustee, Portola Valley School District

Mary Hufty has been a consistent voice for nature and open space in Portola Valley. She will work to maintain our natural beauty and parks while addressing the need of its citizens.

– Susan Ford Dorsey

Mary is acutely aware of the position of this town and its rural tradition of open space, now huddled up against the booming Silicon Valley.  She understands the needs of this community and indeed of the whole Bay Area including housing, transport, and quality of life on the San Francisco Peninsula.

– Ward Paine, Co-founder and Board Member at POST (The Peninsula Open Space Trust has conserved 64,000 acres in the San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties)

Mary is passionate about providing a healthy natural environment for the benefit of people and wildlife in our region and particularly in Portola Valley. Her intimate knowledge of our local environmental issues and her willingness to take action is what we need now more than ever.

– Curt Riffle, Board Vice-President, Mid-Peninsula Open Space District

Mary Hufty is a superb candidate for the Portola Valley Town Council. She cherishes all the values and priorities that make Portola Valley truly unique among mid-Peninsula towns. Mary is informed, capable, and effective. She will work diligently for our residents to make the Portola Valley of the future consistent with the place envisioned when our Town was founded. I hope she receives widespread support and is elected.

– George Parker, Dean Witter Distinguished Professor of Finance, Emeritus, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University

There is no one better qualified to serve as a positive, inclusive, and collective voice for Portola Valley than Dr. Mary Hufty. Her extensive knowledge of the town’s green spaces, effective fire mitigation, and daily interactions with a diverse swath of community members make her an exemplary candidate. Additionally, Dr. Hufty’s contributions to our trail system, our wildlife conservation efforts, and preservation of rural character will be felt for generations to come.

– Rebecca Shostak

Mary is a true team player – when working on an issue, she listens, she researches, she decides and most of all she cares.  Mary’s lifelong commitment of service as a physician, mother, committee member and so much more – I am proud to call her my friend.

– Rita Comes Whitney

Mary understands the needs of local businesses. People like me who work in Portola Valley but cannot afford to live here need alternatives for housing that are subsidized in some way. I believe that Mary will research opportunities and do her best to overcome the obstacles to making them available. Vote for Mary!

– Halima Sabrane, Local Business Owner within the ​Antonio Cremona Salon

Mary has dedicated her life to conservation and community initiatives, and is passionate about the town that we all love.
She will do her best to serve the current and future residents of Portola Valley, and we wholeheartedly support Mary for Town Council!

– Jane Daniels and David Pejcha

Mary combines outstanding credentials with a track record of highly effective community advocacy. She is a leader who brings a deep understanding of the town’s history and what makes our unique community a very special place to live.

– Brian Dombkowski, Former Vice Mayor of Woodside

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A Partial List of Mary’s Supporters

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Please leave your comments, questions, or endorsements!
Reach out by email:
maryhufty at gmail dot com
or with our contact form

or call / text: 650-400-1424.

Ask for a yard sign!

Mary hates waste…note that her signs are recycled, reused, and she provides full service delivery, installation, and removal. If you find a sign that is misplaced or want one removed please text 650-400-1424.