Living in Pismo Beach, where we connect you with some of our favorite people who live and work on the Central Coast. Those community and business leaders who make living on the Coast such a unique and diverse experience.
Episode #6
Caren Ray Russom
Mayor of the City of Arroyo Grande, CA
Caren Ray Russom Mayor of the City of Arroyo Grande, CA, joins Ashlea Foster Boyer, Shannon Bowdey & Jordan Hamm on Living In Pismo Beach.
Ashlea Boyer:
Hey guys.
Jordan Hamm:
Hey.
Shannon Bowdey:
Hey.
Ashlea Boyer:
Another week. How are you?
Jordan Hamm:
Good. Good to see you.
Shannon Bowdey:
Oh, had a good day. It’s a warm day today.
Jordan Hamm:
I know.
Ashlea Boyer:
Yeah. Well, 92 in Pismo yesterday. I don’t even know what it is today, but I’m wilting. Well, it’s exciting that we’ve been able to snag a bit of time with the mayor of Arroyo Grande given all that’s going on in this current environment of so many situations and events. I’m going to get right into it. Caren has been a Central Coast resident for nearly four decades and currently serves as mayor of Arroyo Grande, after serving previously as a city council member and on the county board of supervisors. In addition to her elected/appointed service, she was a member of the board of directors of the Economic Vitality Corporation, SLOCOG, the Air Pollution Control District, and the planning commission among a few things.
Ashlea Boyer:
Caren is only the second female elected mayor in Arroyo Grande’s 108 year history. She was only the sixth female supervisor in SLO County history. And number 70 of nearly 300 seated female county supervisors in the entire State of California in 2014. Prior to becoming the first female council member in nearly two decades in May, 2010. She was recruited to the planning commission in 2005 and became its chair in 2007. After graduating from AGHS, Caren attended Cuesta College, then UCLA, where she earned a BA in History. Originally on a pre-law path, she changed schools after a postgraduation trip through 11 countries, deciding instead to pursue a teaching career. After teaching for seven years, she took a break to raise children. Then in 2007, when her children reached school age, she returned to the classroom. She teaches Modern World History, Government, and Economics at Santa Maria High School.
Ashlea Boyer:
She left in 2013 to step up and serve full time at the County level. But she’s now back at the high school, working full time and serving the public in her capacity as mayor. So let’s all welcome Mayor Caren Ray Russom.
Shannon Bowdey:
I read a story that you commonly break through some barriers, and it goes all the way back to high school when you had joined the boys water polo team because there were no girls teams, but you were on that team. As well as being the second female mayor of Arroyo Grande . What made you leap from educator to public office, and what challenges did you experience as a female attempting to break through those barriers?
Caren Ray Russom:
Well, some people come to office for this reason or that reason, and many people come to office because there’s a particular issue that they care about or something is happening in the news. For me, it was very different. I knew the family of one of our city councilmen and, out of the blue, there was a vacancy on the planning commission and he asked me if I would be his representative on the planning commission.
Caren Ray Russom:
And my first question was, what’s the planning commission? And my second question was, why me? And he said, “this is a citizen oversight committee, so you don’t need specialized knowledge, but your family is in real estate.” My mother’s partner was a developer and so, this is a world that I knew. And he said, “I know you’re going to do great. I don’t have any qualms whatsoever about your talent. Go watch a few meetings, get yourself familiarized, and let me know if you’re interested.” This is a long time ago, so I had to go down to the South County Regional Center and check out DVDs. I watched a whole bunch of planning commission videos and in the end, I just thought, “you know what? The worst is going to happen as I hate it.”
Caren Ray Russom:
And after my very first meeting, I loved it. I knew it was something that I was going to have fun doing. My second meeting, I got sued for a decision I didn’t make. I had to go home and tell my husband, “Honey, I know I just joined this committee, but…” It was just a city posturing thing. I know the ropes now, but at the time I was like, “aah!” But I just stuck with it, and that world came to me. I came to the council level, again, because of a vacancy on city council, not because I was ready to run. And I stepped up because at that time I was the planning commission chair, and it was a natural move. And so I did that and loved city council. And I’ve just kind of gone from there.
Caren Ray Russom:
And in terms of the second part of your question, what challenges do I face as a female mayor? It’s the same challenges that any woman in a position of authority faces. And I’m looking at three wonderful women right now, I am sure you face it in your industry as well. My mother did. If you’re a strong man, you’re a strong man. If you’re a strong woman, there are other words that people use. I have been dealing with that since my days of water polo, my athletics. For sure, I owe everything to my athletics and my coaches who taught me how to literally take a punch and figuratively take a punch. And so by the time I got to politics, I was ready for it. And at this point I’ve got rhinoceros skin, so that’s a gift.
Jordan Hamm:
Wow.
Shannon Bowdey:
Thank you.
Jordan Hamm:
Crazy. Now, how do you balance family life, just with your career and public obligations that you have?
Caren Ray Russom:
I don’t know if balance is the right word. I think inclusive is the right word. When I first stepped up to planning commission, my kids were five and three. And they are now 19 and 17, so my kids grew up with me doing this stuff. Don’t tell my 17 year old, but I used to sit with my planning commission plans on the kitchen floor looking at stuff, and I gave him a box of crayons to draw on the plans while I would study them, and he still thinks he’s responsible for the colors outside of Rooster Creek.
Caren Ray Russom:
I always included them in what I was doing. When I had functions to go to, I always try and bring my kids. They learned very early on how to shake hands with an adult, and how to behave when you’re in public. I would tell them at age five, “you represent your city, you don’t just represent yourself, sit down and behave.” And they got it. And they kind of found pride in that, I think. Which is not to say they don’t get fidgety like kids do because I still had to mom them, they’re still kids. There’s that. And then as I rose up in the ranks and as my children grew at the same time, you all know politics is a unforgiving and often dirty business, and there were tough days for me.
Caren Ray Russom:
And it gave me the opportunity to talk to my kids about cyber bullying. And I really used those as teachable moments with my children. And there was one election that was particularly brutal. And, as you know, elections happen in November. And for Christmas, my son gave me a large Mason jar filled with little notes. And on the outside it said, “for when mommy has a bad day.” And they’re just affirmations. And so, my kids learned a lot about how adults respond to stress, how family behaves in public and how family, at home, this is your place of refuge and this is where you get your support. And so I would encourage anyone who’s thinking about getting involved, and having young kids, a lot of people think that’s a barrier to getting involved and it just, for me, wasn’t.
Shannon Bowdey:
That’s nice to know.
Jordan Hamm:
Yeah. Great learning.
Shannon Bowdey:
I have a true passion for history and Arroyo Grande is full of it. I was wondering, what measures are in place to keep the preservation of our history maintained?
Caren Ray Russom:
Oh gosh, I wasn’t ready for that question. Well, we used to have a Historic Resources Council, but the work of that council has now run its course. We put a historic resources statement into place, for the city of Arroyo Grande , that reflects our history and kind of describes what we’re trying to preserve. We do have a local register of historic places, my house is one of them. We do do our best to allow for the growth that is inevitable and the rights of property owners to do what they want to do with their property, and balancing that with the community’s interest with the very special properties that we have here in the city.
Shannon Bowdey:
Oh, wonderful. Thank you.
Jordan Hamm:
Now, what has been your biggest takeaway from this pandemic? Have you had to pivot the new normal?
Caren Ray Russom:
The biggest takeaway? Asking me right now, in this moment, is very different than if you would ask me a week ago. I think it’s been a challenge for everyone, and I think the need for connectedness got really highlighted during this time. A lot of us get our connections in the workplace. I am fortunate enough to have two workplaces, because the public is my workspace too. And so I thrive on those connections, and I know a lot of people do. In the first couple of weeks I got a much needed vacation, and then I was ready to go back and couldn’t. And I think we all got Zoomed out, our social circles wanted to do Zoom, and our professional circles wanted to do Zoom. And then Saturday Night Live did Zoom, which was hilarious.
Ashlea Boyer:
Zoom bingo. Zoom martinis. Yes.
Caren Ray Russom:
Yeah. And then a month went by. And then six weeks went by. And I think that, that great human need really revealed itself. And I think that what’s going on nationally right now is benefiting from that. I don’t want to get political, I don’t believe this is political, but we’ve been torn apart for a long time and then coronavirus ripped us physically apart. And I think the biggest takeaway is how much we want to be together. And it’s my intention to continue to lead the community to be together. Even as we don’t agree about some of our foundational things, that doesn’t mean we can’t be a community and be together. As of this last week or so, not only nationally, but locally with what’s going on with Black Lives Matter. I’m grateful for the momentum that I think came out of that great need to do something and be together.
Jordan Hamm:
That’s a neat answer.
Ashlea Boyer:
I found your Facebook connection really interesting. Yours and Heidi, on a different level, and SLO. We get to see different aspects of your personality. Because sometimes council is so professional and businesslike and sticking to the agenda and there’s rules and protocols. But it’s nice to have you sum things up for us once a week. I found that connection really helpful. Especially in the beginning when it was kind of, scary, I guess is the word, right?
Caren Ray Russom:
Yes. Absolutely. Yeah.
Ashlea Boyer:
Nice to have a few people locally that were giving us the bullet points, and streamlining it for us. Kind of like fireside chat.
Shannon Bowdey:
That kind of goes into my next question. I want to thank you for making all the videos you’ve been doing on social media, and giving us updates what’s going on in the area. Has this brought you closer to your constituents or has it made it more challenging?
Caren Ray Russom:
Oh no. Without a doubt, closer. I told you I’m an extrovert, so I need to connect with people. And in a time when I couldn’t, and I knew I had information that other people didn’t have, it was just a whim. And if you look at that first video, I don’t even have makeup on. It was really unintentional. I just thought, “Okay. I’ve got this page, it’s got a lot of followers on it. I’m going to…” I’d never done a video before. And I always put stuff out there, but they’re usually links or my explanations. And this one I decided to do live. And it got several thousand looks and I thought, “Okay. Well, people want this. I’m going to continue to do it.”
Caren Ray Russom:
And I started with… That first one got a couple thousand views in the first few days. And the second one got 3000, and then a couple of them got more than three. So I just kept on doing them because it was clear that that’s what people wanted. And then when I did the banner project for the high school seniors, and I put that video out. That one hit 10,000 views in 48 hours, and I was just shocked. And then the one that I did just this last Saturday with regard to the protests and the issue at The Pit. Within 24 hours, that had 17,000 views. And that’s not the reach, the reach was close to 30,000. So people want to connect, I don’t want to say they want to connect with me, I don’t know if it’s so much me as wanting to connect with their community and the information. But I’m happy that they’re finding that connection with me and I’m going to continue doing it. I stumbled into it and it’s turned out to be a really great thing.
Shannon Bowdey:
Good. Thank you.
Jordan Hamm:
Yeah. We all watched that message that you did for the peaceful protests for George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter last Friday. Now that the country is heading into its third week of these demonstrations, how is the city addressing concerns on a local level?
Caren Ray Russom:
That is a really good question. And we just discussed that last night. I’ll give you a little bit of a preview of what’s going to happen and what I’m personally doing, if you can grant me a couple of minutes of just some backstory. My son, he came home on Saturday and he was really interested to talk to me about the Black Lives Matter movement. And so, we had a really great talk and he said, “Mom, can I go march?” He had not been at the Friday march. And I said, “Of course you can. Go exercise your First Amendment right. And he looked me dead in the eye and he goes, “Mom, what are you going to do?”
Ashlea Boyer:
Put you on the spot.
Caren Ray Russom:
And I said, “Honey, I have to be very careful with what I do in public. Because whatever happens will be connected to me, and I represent all people. But what I’m in a unique position to do is, I actually have the power to help change an organization and how we do things. And that’s very different than marching. That’s changing the system from the inside out, and I’m privileged to be in that situation, and that is what I intend to do.” And I looked at him and I said, “So what are you going to do?” And he goes, “I’m going to March.” And I said, “Okay, great. Six months from now, what are you going to do? A year from now, when the world has moved on, what are you going to do? Five years from now, what are you going to do?” And he looked at me like, “Please give me the answer.”
Caren Ray Russom:
And I said, “Kid, you’re turning 18 in two months. All you have to do is promise me that you’ll vote in every election you’re eligible, and that you will vote for the people that represent the world you want to live in. If you can make me that promise, this world will be a better place.” And he said, “Okay, I can do that.” Yeah. And so, I’m changing it in my home. And then as far as going forward, the council has asked the staff and the police chief to come back with a robust staff report with regard to our internal policies and trainings for our police department. And we are asking for, not only a record and an explanation of what trainings they have been doing and are going to be doing, but how we might be able to expand those to reflect the world we’re in right now.
Caren Ray Russom:
That discussion is going to begin in our next meeting on Tuesday, the 23rd. I’m very much looking forward to that. And just this morning, this is just something I dreamed up and I don’t know how it’s going to come to fruition. Ashlea, you’re going to be hearing from me on this. My intent is to kind of privately, this is for me and for some community leaders. I want to put what I’m going to call a mayor’s round table together. And I want to take some of the big personalities that are out there right now, that are involved in what’s going on from all sides. And I want to invite everyone to lunch, and we’re going to break bread together and we’re going to talk. And that’s all I want to do.
Caren Ray Russom:
Because when we have leaders from all sides, together, breaking bread. There’s something about chewing. I don’t know what it is. When you chew, your mouth goes, but you don’t have to talk. And it affects the way we behave with each other as human beings. I don’t want to promise how this is going to come out because I haven’t even contacted the people that I want at that luncheon, but there are people from very different backgrounds and I want those people there so we can all hear each other. Because right now we’re screaming at each other and we’re not hearing each other. And I figure if I can start that with some leadership in the community and start that and show people how I’m doing that, then that trickles out to the whole community. So that’s my intent. I hope that the people I’m going to contact are going to buy into that and want to do that. I can’t make people do that, so I don’t know what it’s going to look like. But that’s what I’m dreaming of, of what I can individually do as mayor.
Ashlea Boyer:
Well, that sounds awesome. Yeah. I agree. When you’re feeding your face, so to speak, it makes you listen, your ears work better. And also, there’s something very personal about sharing a meal with folks and changes the whole landscape. It’s not adversarial.
Caren Ray Russom:
Exactly.
Jordan Hamm:
Definitely.
Ashlea Boyer:
Collaborative. Well, we-
Caren Ray Russom:
I hope everybody buys in.
Ashlea Boyer:
Yeah. Well, I look forward to that call if you were thinking of including me. That sounds awesome. Well, I think those are all the questions we have for you today, if there’s anything else that you’d like to add. But we are so glad that you joined us for our episode, and look forward to seeing more of you and your weekly messages.
Caren Ray Russom:
Thank you so much. And for your people who are watching, you can contact me on Facebook. I don’t do Instagram, I’m just too old. But you contact me there on my Mayor Caren Ray page, or you can email me at crayrussom@arroyogrande.org. I try and respond to every single email if I can, although the last 24 hours has been tough. But please contact me. Don’t ever get to the point of frustration where you don’t know where to turn. Turn to me first before you get there, and I’m here to help.
Ashlea Boyer:
Awesome. Thank you so much.
Caren Ray Russom:
My pleasure.
Ashlea Boyer:
Awesome. Okay. Well then, I’ll just do that intro, and I just ran through your bio, we’ll get some time about your Santa Maria High School and all of that in there too.
Caren Ray Russom:
Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity.
Ashlea Boyer:
Awesome. I love the fish tank.
Caren Ray Russom:
Oh, that’s my Roku screensaver.
Ashlea Boyer:
Oh. It looks so good.
Shannon Bowdey:
I was wondering if it was real. That’s a nice aquarium.
Ashlea Boyer:
That’s a nice aquarium.
Caren Ray Russom:
When I’m working I work in my game room, because this is the most pleasant room in my house to be in. And I usually let that screensaver run because it makes me happy.
Shannon Bowdey:
I love your house by the way. We just sold the one on the corner of Simpson and… What is it? Myrtle?
Ashlea Boyer:
No, Stillwell. Stillwell and Myrtle
Shannon Bowdey:
Stillwell and Myrtle. And so- [Crosstalk 00:00:21:01].
Caren Ray Russom:
I haven’t met my new neighbors yet.
Shannon Bowdey:
Oh, she’s wonderful. Her name’s Karen. [Karen Gromerly 00:21:05]. She came from Ojai. And she’s friends with the [Pruitts 00:21:08], so she really wanted to live in that neighborhood. She’s a real sweet lady. She’s a widow.
Ashlea Boyer:
Single female. Yeah.
Caren Ray Russom:
Oh really?
Ashlea Boyer:
Yeah.
Caren Ray Russom:
Wow. We have four, I think, single widows on that street.
Group:
Wow.
Ashlea Boyer:
They should form some sort of a networking group.
Shannon Bowdey:
Yeah.
Caren Ray Russom:
Well, she’s going to fit right in. That’s great. And I haven’t had the chance to extend her… I don’t have an email yet and I hesitate to walk over and knock on somebody’s door during coronavirus. But I look forward to meeting her.
Ashlea Boyer:
Well, we probably can get you an email, so we’ll-
Shannon Bowdey:
I do have her email address, for sure. Yeah.
Ashlea Boyer:
I’ll email you, or Shannon will. Cool. Awesome. Thanks Caren.
Caren Ray Russom:
Thank you. I’m going to get some sleep now.
Ashlea Boyer:
Bye.
Caren Ray Russom:
Okay. Bye.
Ashlea Boyer:
All right. Well that was a great episode. So fun to talk to Caren and get her opinion.
Jordan Hamm:
[inaudible 00:22:01].Ashlea Boyer:
Yeah. She was great. We have an exciting week, or end of the week, coming. Friday, we will be revealing our kickoff to our Win a YETI program, so be on the lookout for that. And let us know if you’d like a Koozie. This is Ashlea Boyer.
Jordan Hamm:
Jordan Hamm.
Shannon Bowdey:
And Shannon Bowdey, with the Pismo Beach Homes team.