Gross: Go green on growth

Peter Gross

Peter Gross' goals in his campaign for mayor all revolve around sustainability, from food and water security and a 365-day economy to renewable energy and sustainable growth.

Ashland should be less dependent on outside food, water and energy sources in order to stabilize prices and ensure local access to resources, Gross said. He would like to see Ashland greatly increase the amount of food grown locally and regionally.

The city could even purchase arable land around the Rogue Valley and possibly lease it to farmers without incorporating the land into the urban growth boundary, he said, in order to create more jobs and reduce the city's carbon footprint from transporting food.

"It could create jobs for people who want to be out on the land," he said. "It's just creating more options. We want to attract all sorts of people because it's the diversity in our community that makes it so rich."

Agricultural jobs, especially those with greenhouse growing, are part of Gross' vision for a year-round economy that is not dependent on tourism. Instead, he will work toward a foundation of clean energy, technology and local agriculture.

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"Tourism becomes the icing on the cake, and people can make a living here all year round," he said of his vision for Ashland's future.

Attracting clean energy ties into a third goal: developing alternative forms of energy, such as wind and solar power or the emerging biodigestion, which turns methane into usable energy, he said.

"My whole thing is not to be reliant on one source of anything," he said.

Gross supports attracting private companies, forming public-private partnerships or encouraging homeowners to install solar arrays to create a decentralized network of alternative energy. The new green development Verde Village, for example, could be a self-contained solar energy producer but still connect to the larger grid, he said.

"The first step is really deciding which way to go, and we have good models — the city's been doing good work — it's really just expanding and stepping up the pace on what the city is doing," he said.

When considering new buildings and growth, Gross would also like the city to think more sustainably, considering the how and why, rather than growing for growth's sake, he said.

"Before we go building new buildings, let's see if there's a building that exists that's empty that could fit the bill," he said. "Building just to build is not appropriate in this day and age."

He would like to see more regulations to encourage building to the highest standards of green technology, including energy-efficient and passive solar designs and gray water recycling.

Gross' lens of sustainability has also influenced his approach to managing the city budget.

He would begin with an internal audit, looking for areas where "energy," or money, is leaking out of the system, he said.

"The first place to trim is the fat, not make cuts, but look where money is being wasted or poorly spent and could be redirected," he said. "The first thing you do when you're trying to create a healthy system is look where the energy is leaking."

Gross earned a bachelor's degree in holistic perspectives on political science from San Francisco State University. He completed an internship in 2006 with the Democratic Party of San Francisco, where he said he got a broad overview of local politics and wrote policy papers on community policing and public housing, he said. As a relative newcomer to Ashland politics, he said he would bring a fresh perspective to city government.

"I have different energy," he said. "I have a different take on things."

If elected, citizens can expect strong-handed council meetings, accountability, an open ear and "someone who cares a lot about life in Ashland," he said.

Staff writer Julie French can be reached at 482-3456 ext. 227 or jfrench@dailytidings.com.