In seven-person City Council race, Martha Fritz says experience counts





Martha Fritz

Martha Fritz

The Acorn will publish individual profiles for the seven candidates who are vying for two open seats on the Calabasas City Council. The municipal elections will take place March 8.

If elected to City Council, Martha Fritz promises to work hard to maintain public safety, preserve open spaces and protect the fiscal strength of the city— regardless of California’s budgetary problems.

“I have devoted myself to these goals as a three- term Calabasas planning commissioner, member of the Art in Public Places Committee and Lupin Hill School Parent-Faculty board member,” Fritz said.

Fritz, 46, has lived in Calabasas for 10 years. She was appointed to the planning commission in 2003 by former Councilmember Leslie Devine and currently chairs the panel as Councilmember Dennis Washburn’s appointee.

The candidate said her work on the commission—reviewing projects to ensure they’re compatible with the city’s general plan and planning codes—will allow her to make educated decisions on the City Council.

Fritz earned a master’s degree in architecture and urban planning from UCLA and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Pennsylvania. She also has a general building contractor’s license.

She’s owned a small business since 1985 and serves on the board of directors of Tinius Olsen, a global engineering company.

“This helps me to understand how to run big budgets and deal with management issues,” she said.

With regard to finances, Fritz said cities, like businesses, must routinely re-examine their discretionary spending and track revenues to determine where money should go.

“We have to maintain the budget and make priority changes in order to stay strong. The city is stable because it maintains good reserves,” she said.

To ensure that Calabasas continues to flourish as an “outstanding” community with safe neighborhoods, Fritz said the city must retain its existing high level of law enforcement.

It must also balance residential and commercial interests to create a positive climate for businesses and generate new revenue for programs, services and open space acquisition.

As an elected official, Fritz said she would work hard to improve communication with residents and solve issues that have been bothering citizens in recent months.

But while the council must be responsive to citizens’ concerns, it must also uphold the vision of the general plan that protects the city’s priorities, she said.

“We need to have respectful dialogue among the community and council members. Shouting and personal attacks don’t solve problems,” Fritz said.

As planning chair, Fritz said she took a leading role to update development standards for cell towers and minimize impacts on residents wherever possible.

Concerning septic systems, the candidate supports the council’s effort to regulate systems and prevent pollution downstream. But impacts on homeowners who have failing systems and can’t afford repairs should also be considered.

“I would try to find non-punitive ways to solve the problem.” she said.

Fritz and her husband, David, have three children between the ages of 6 and 11.

As a board member of the Lupin Hill PFC, Fritz said she worked with city officials to increase funding for schools throughout the city and retain educational specialists and programs.

The candidate said all five council members support her bid for council.

Washburn said Fritz is a capable, educated and thoughtful person with strong character.

As commissioner, “She applies her skills and experience in a very thoughtful, considerate and wellinformed way, which is important because the planning commission is implementing the city’s law,” Washburn said.

In addition, Fritz knows how to work with her colleagues and is enthusiastic about Calabasas, the council member said.


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