Letter: McPherson knows how to listen

EDITOR,
One of the main things I appreciated about Bruce McPherson as our elected state senator and assemblyman was his willingness to meet with us. In our case, the discussions were with law enforcement; he did the same with other leaders and constituents who were involved with health care, local government, protection of our natural resources and other organizations.
I was particularly impressed that he was the one who called the meetings in the first place. The community will receive the same positive listening treatment when he is our elected county supervisor for the 5th District.
McPherson wanted to know what were our concerns in asking, “What is it that we are doing for you that is working, and what isn’t going well that we can address and correct?” Personally, I was especially pleased with his support of the community-policing program I implemented as Santa Cruz County sheriff between 1994 and 2004.
It’s one of the main reasons voters in the 5th District and throughout Santa Cruz County continuously elected him. The public safety community of law enforcement and fire protection appreciated McPherson’s openness and leadership when he was in the California Legislature, and they will in the future when he is elected as the 5th District supervisor on the county board of supervisors.
He met with us and listened to us before, and I’m confident he’ll do it again as our supervisor from the 5th District.
Mark Tracy, retired sheriff-coroner, Aptos