SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Kelly O’Haire, one of the 13 candidates running for South Lake Tahoe’s three open city council seats this season, puts professional conduct as one of her main platform items. A resident for 23 years, O’Haire has served as a county prosecutor, a city attorney and police officer.
O’Haire said that she has been civically engaged for the past three years, emphasizing the importance of attending in person. She became particularly interested in engaging during the tumultuous times of Measure N, the vacancy tax, leading the No on Measure N committee.
She also spoke on her involvement in advocating for other issues in her neighborhood, especially around trash, drugs, safety, and quality of life. Now, she said, she sees the impact in serving on city council to address such issues.
“I’ve tried to provide help and input to the city and I’ve worked with other cities and agencies,” said O’Haire, who offered to write an ethics policy for the city pro bono, as well as offering advice to other cities and community services districts.
O’Haire has worked for cities through contract and businesses licenses, especially for conflict of interest cases or investigating high-ranking officials. She also has investigated police misconduct and served as a supervising attorney for San Francisco and Los Angeles, and served as Director of Ethics in Oakland and Director of Moral Character for the California State Bar.
That experience, she said, is part of why a return to professionalism (and greater transparency) is a top priority for her campaign.
She believes the city can increase civic engagement too through increasing professionalism. “There should be a rules system that is enforced,” she said of disruptive meetings in the past. “And councilmembers also need to cut down on campaigning.”
“It’s important to represent the city well in off-duty conduct as well,” said O’Haire. “I’ve worked in government for 40 years. I’ve had to live my life in a way open to public scrutiny.”
“Staff are leaving because the city is in a bad state of affairs,” continued O’Haire. “This is an opportunity for three new councilmembers to show up… and I’m willing to do it.”
O’Haire also has an interest in prioritizing core services like fire, police and roads; creating stable economic development; and addressing community concerns such as tourism, lack of parking, bear safety and pedestrian safety.
“Economic development drives the rest of what we can do,” said O’Haire, who expressed an interest in a study to see why businesses are failing in South Lake Tahoe. She praised the current strategic plan and the focus, though she urged that the city could do better on outreach.
O’Haire cited David Jinkens’ newsletter as something that she’d like to see the city do on their own in order to keep residents up-to-date. She also noted that the city has come a long way since the Caldor Fire, where people were getting updates from the Facebook group Knuckle Draggers.
O’Haire was endorsed by Jinkens, among others like Peter Evenhuis, retired Marin County District Attorneys Paula Kamena and Michael Gridley, and a multitude of police and fire chiefs. She says that even people who have been critical are still interested in having someone who is happy to bring ethics and professionalism to the city.
“I’m not trying to bring Kelly’s needs. I want to help the city’s projects like at Midtown, the Chateau, and others to succeed,” she said. “I have no other political agenda to put forth. The people need faith in the city government again.”
To read more about Kelly O’Haire’s campaign and platform, visit https://www.kelly4slt.com/.
