The College of San Mateo received a 2011 Sustainable San Mateo County Award for our new Health and Wellness Center. This is in recognition of the facility's "LEED Gold" certification. LEED is the national standard of excellence for green building.

My duties as President and elected Trustee of the San Mateo County Community College District begin with making sure that College of San Mateo, Cañada College and Skyline College rank among California's best in academics and career training - but they don't end there.

I championed incorporating environmental goals into our campus construction program. We won the 2008 Sustainable San Mateo County Award for our pioneering work.

Our colleges reduced energy consumption by 56%, saving taxpayers one million dollars a year. We've removed 3200 tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year through energy efficiency and use of co-generation to capture and reuse waste heat.

Our drought-tolerant landscaping and ground cover has dramatically reduced water consumption. We have maximized our recycling and composting of waste products. Six new facilities on our three campuses meet LEED certification standards.

We are providing 100 units of below-market rate rental housing to faculty and staff at Cañada College and CSM. This isn't subsidized housing. We own the land and pass that savings along, helping us attract and retain top-notch faculty in the nation's costliest housing market. These employees walk across the street to work - eliminating hundreds of commuter car trips every day, saving energy and reducing carbon emissions.

As your elected Community College Trustee and Board President, I've set the green building standard for the Peninsula. As your next Supervisor, I am eager to put my proven record to work to achieve more sustainable County government practices.

It's the right thing to do for our taxpayers and for our planet.