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About Steve Steven P. Kennedy is one of four children (second eldest) raised by two educators (Dave & Kathleen Kennedy) in the bedroom community of Millbrae, CA. My mother taught me to read, Steve says, and my father taught me to play ball, fish and ride a bicycle. Steve played little league baseball, went to college, studied to be a technical writer and dreamed about buying a piece of land up in the hills. But a summer job as a seasonal firefighter changed the direction of his life. "I saw the destructive power of fire and witnessed the mechanized and militarized approach to wildfire, which is after all, a natural process. Then along came the disastrous 1991 fire in the Oakland-Berkeley hills and I knew there had to be a better way." The "better way" evolved into a video project called, The Cannonball Express, a docudrama about the power of mother nature, best friends, last chances and redemption. Targeting residents in the hills and homeowner associations, this video project covers suburban forest fires, fire safety and the environment. This 12 year effort is the expression of a man who cared deeply about people, the environment and the State of California. Soon it would become the cornerstone of an active political career. The video is now being produced by an African-American film maker in Oakland. Appointed to the Menlo Park Fire Prevention District Board of Directors six years ago, Steve focused on four goals. Fire safety in the suburban hills, a community based hiring program, wood shingle roofing and Bars on Windows. Four years later, The Cannonball Express is in production, the hiring program awaits Federally enforced affirmative action (see below), wood shingle roofing legislation awaits resurrection and the Bars on Windows program is in suspended animation without a list of interested homeowners and without a licensed contractor. During his first term in office, Steve worked with his colleagues on the Board to select a new Fire Chief, has approved a labor contract, upgraded the fire engine fleet, approved the budget and paid off outstanding loans. He saw war coming and warned his colleagues about the 9/11 attacks at a Board meeting three weeks in advance (see 9/11 Prediction). He predicted the looting that would engulf Iraq and now believes that the Rescue team members, who breathed the brutal air in the area around the pile and toxic smoke arising from the burning wreckage of the World Trade Center Towers, will claim early disability retirements. This, with accumulated other injuries to their bodies, will result in tremendous additional costs to the District and the State of California through the Worker's Compensation program. Financial responsibility has always been a hallmark of Steve's tenure as Director. He voted against taking a pay raise from the District. He investigated claims that the transmission in the pumper engine/ladder truck called "the Quint" was defective and concluded that the mechanical reports were bogus (alas too late to prevent its sale and replacement at a cost of well over a million dollars). Steve plans to keep his campaign expenditures well under a thousand dollars and devote his next four years on the Board to restoring ambulance service and building a new fire station headquarters with community access features. Steve stands against racism, wherever it occurs. Whereas; Supervisor Sandoval stated that he did not want the City's Rent Board to end up like the San Francisco Fire Departments list of employees that reads "like the Dublin phone book" when in fact the SF Fire Department is one of the most racially diverse fire departments in the United States, and Whereas; Gerardo Sandoval is a duly elected San Franciscan citizen holding a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and Therefore, be it Resolved this _______of July, 2002 that
the San Francisco Board of Supervisors does hereby condemn Gerardo Sandoval's
rhetoric as hurtful and racist, and the Board expects that he will publicly
apologize to the Irish American Firefighters and the Irish American community,
and honestly commit to refrain from such racist rhetoric in the future.
Find out more http://www.eaif.org/Newsrelease/boardofsup_16Jul02.htm How Does Affirmative Action Work Today? Affirmative action has helped to eradicate many inequities
caused by ongoing discrimination in hiring, promoting and admissions decisions.
Gains by women and minorities show the effectiveness and continued need
for affirmative action programs. Find out more http://www.napalc.org/programs/affirmativeaction/resources/americans.html
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