North Bay Woman

52 NORTH BAY WOMAN | S P R I N G 2 0 1 9 10 QUESTIONS with kate colin San Rafael council member says 'when you're passionate about something, you have an endless well of energy to keep going at it.' San Rafael City Councilwoman Kate Colin. – Photo by Jennifer Skinner. K ate Colin was elected to the San Rafael City Council in January 2013, after serving on that city's Planning Commission for eight years and engaging in a variety of community activities. She grew up in the South Bay, but since 1996, she, her husband and their son and daughter, who are now in college, have called San Rafael home. "I love this city," she says. 1 What made you run for San Rafael City Council? "I saw a documentary called 'Missrepresentation' (by Jennifer Siebold Newsom). I went to see it with my daughter and didn't know what to expect.…Then I saw it a second time, and I got really angry. I realized that the young women in our community had celebrities and sexualized images as role models — aspects of women that aren't our most powerful selves. I walked out and thought I couldn't sit on the sidelines anymore. Young women need to know what they bring. Their voices are valuable and must be heard." 2 What are your top priorities in your work as a council member? "At the end of the day, I'm elected to be responsive to my community and do what's best for our city. I work on city-specific issues such as infrastructure…and broader issues — affordable housing, climate change, race. Racial inequity is not OK. We By Judith M. Wilson

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