Represents District No. 4.
Accomplishments
- Six-term mayor
- Married to Brad for 34 years, with 5 children all having graduated from Duarte High School. One son, James, has returned to do his residency in Lab Animal Medicine and PhD at City of Hope.
- Executive Committee of the California Contract Cities 14 years
- New soundwall on the south side of the freeway, protecting DHS and Northview and Westminster Gardens from aggravating freeway noise
- Chairperson for the successful 1998 Measure B School Bond Campaign that is improving aging Duarte Schools
- Expanded Senior Citizen transportation and more warm meals delivered to household Seniors
- Duarte was named as a Finalist in the Duarte All-America City Competition
- A partnership with the Feds for an enlarged post office parking lot
- A new city website that provides a comprehensive list of city information and services
- Cablecasting the City Council meetings for better communication
- Crime statistics that have dropped 38%
Education
- B.B.A. in Marketing, 1975, St. Mary’s College , Notre Dame, Indiana
- Master’s in Public Administration, 2000, Cal State Long Beach
- Doctoral work at Claremont Graduate University
- Harvard University - Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program- 2004
Professorships/Speaker
- Adjunct Professor - Policy Analysis Courses in MPA program at CSU, Long Beach Adjunct Professor - Policy Analysis Courses in MPA program at CSU, Long Beach
- International Speaker on Municipal Government in Melbourne, Australia, June 2005
- Speaker at different colleges at Azusa Pacific and Fullerton College
Experience
- Los Angeles County LAFCO Commissioner, Elected 2005
- Community Redevelopment Agency (a housing and community development agency) 15 yrs, Chairperson for 4 yrs.
- Three-term Mayor of Duarte
- League of California Cities, State Board of Directors, 4yrs.
- National League of Cities, Board of Directors, 2 yrs.
- National League of Cities, Small Cities Council Steering Committee, Chairperson (2000-2001)
- National League of Cities Program Chair, Congress of Cities, December 2005
- Institute for Local Government (research in government), League of California Cities Board Liaison
- California Contract Cities Association, President (2004-2005)
- California Joint Powers Insurance Authority, Executive Committee, 9yrs.
- San Gabriel Valley Vector Control District, 14yrs, President (2yrs)
- Los Angeles County Sanitation District, Board of Directors & Personnel Committee, 10 yrs.
- 8 years L.A. County Library Commission, Legislative Chair, 8 yrs.
- L.A. County Sheriff’s Liability Trust Fund Board
- State Committee on Ethics in Government
- Planning Commissioner
- Traffic and Safety Commissioner
- Duarte Education Foundation (serving the community education needs for low-to-moderate income students) President, 8 yrs.
- Royal Oaks PTA (President)
- Volunteer Guide for Tournament of Roses Floats
- Church Youth Leader
Associations/Awards
- Pi Alpha Alpha (National Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration)
- Phi Kappa Phi (National Honor Society)
- 4.0 GPA Graduation Award in the MPA Program at CSULB-2000
Email Margaret Finlay