I was assigned to interview the mayor of Walnut Creek for Walnut Creek Magazine.

1. 10 Walnut Creek Magazine
M
ayor Gwen Regalia is call-
ing it quits. It’s been a
long, hard journey through
decades of public service. Through
it all, Regalia has been relentless in
her goal to help transform Walnut
Creek into a prestigious destina-
tion shopping city with a healthy
balance of parks and recreation,
good schools and public services.
And after 21 years on the
City Council, including
five times as Mayor, Gwen
Regalia steps down this
month from the podium.
Respected by her col-
leagues as “the sage of
Walnut Creek who knows
what the city needs and
fights to get it,” Regalia
is admired for her com-
mitment, knowledge and
tenacity.
I spoke to the Mayor at
her office about her career
and her views on some
of the challenges facing
the City of Walnut Creek
in coming years. And of
course, the Neiman Mar-
cus project.
Deborah Burstyn: Look-
ing back on your 21 years on Wal-
nut Creek City Council, of what
accomplishments are you most
proud?
Mayor Regalia: The Lesher Center
for the Arts. It opened in October
1990. It has been a marvelous con-
tribution to the arts and culture in
our community. And I am leaving
office having approved the library
which is the next major piece we
are adding to the cultural life of
this community. I am pleased to
have these two projects serve as
book-ends for my tenure on the
City Council.
DB: Is there enough money to
finish the library what with the
economic downturn?
MR: We have the money to com-
plete it. It is the cost of operating
the library that we will need as-
sistance with.
DB: So why do you do all this? Why
be a part of local government?
MR: I love what I do. I would not
have wanted to do anything else.
Before being elected to the Council,
I spent nine years on the school
board.
DB: How much time do you have to
put in as a member of the council?
MR: Council members work be-
tween 20 to 60 hours a week, plus
we put in many evenings at meet-
ings, dinners and fundraisers.
DB: If I may ask, do you get paid?
MR: We get $650 a month plus $100
car allowance. Plus, I get Kaiser for
one person and a small reimburse-
ment for work-related expenses. It
is obvious one does not do this for
the money, but the salary does help
offset what we spend on tickets to
fundraisers.
DB: How do you feel about the
opposition to the Neiman Marcus
store?
MR: If the measure against Neiman
Marcus makes it to the ballot, it is
clear that the appeal is intended to
repeal the decision of the Council.
We believe that the incentive for
this is coming from a competing
interest that wishes to
kill the deal in Walnut
Creek so they can take it
to their own community.
If they can attract Nei-
man Marcus, some of the
Broadway Plaza shops
will follow leaving empty
storefronts. We need to
keep our older stores
functioning and vital.
DB: Sometimes residents
feel that the Council does
not listen to them. What
do you think?
MR: I believe in citizen
participation, I believe
in public meetings and
I believe in the Brown
Act. We always allow
people to speak. We read
all the letters we get but
some people don’t understand that.
Because we did not agree with
you does not mean that we did not
listen to you. We may have good
reasons why we do not agree. It is
a part of public life.
DB: During your years on the Wal-
nut Creek City Council, what is the
one thing that you wish had turned
out differently?
MR: Olympia Place. I saw some of
the designs, but the building turned
out different. It is more monolithic
in appearance instead of looking
like individual buildings.
DB: Is that why it has so many
vacancies?
MR: No. Those vacancies were a
bellwether for the stock market.
A Conversation with Walnut Creek Mayor Gwen Regalia
By Deborah Burstyn

2. November/December 2008 11
And when you have a building
facing difficulties, other businesses
don’t want to be there. I believe it
will turn around. Fleming’s is still
on the upper level of Olympia Place
and doing well. And even though
many retailers are facing difficul-
ties now, Neiman Marcus is still
coming. The Andronico’s property
has been rented to the Cheesecake
Factory, but they are not taking all
the space and we’re in talks with
other stores.
DB: And the Broadway Plaza va-
cancies?
MR: Stores go through life cycles
like anything else. I can remember
when Sears and JC Penney’s were
at Broadway Plaza. Macerich Co.
bought it in 1985 with the idea of
making it into an upscale shopping
center. They’ve done it gradually
and very nicely with flowers and
artwork. They have been an excel-
lent partner.
DB: Do you think a store the size
of Neiman Marcus will open the
door for more big buildings down-
town?
MR: Absolutely not. The Nieman
Marcus store will be the same
height as Nordstrom’s and Macy’s.
It is going to be half the size of
Nordstrom’s. And it is hardly going
to turn Walnut Creek into Manhat-
tan.
DB: Doesn’t it seem that crime in
Walnut Creek is increasing?
MR: Our crime rate is relatively
low. The highest number of crimes
is those against property. The
biggest crime problem we have
is parked cars getting broken into
because people do not hide their
laptops or cell phones.
DB: Do you think we need more
police?
MR: If people come into our com-
munity with bad intentions, it is
very hard to stop them. Every po-
lice force would be happy to have
more officers. And there will be an
increase in police here two to four
years down the road.
DB: Aside from retail, do we have
enough new business coming into
town?
MR: We are fortunate to have a
number of large companies. We
have the Genome Institute and we
were involved in finding a spot for
Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue
Foundation. AAA is moving out
of San Francisco to Walnut Creek.
We work closely with the Chamber
of Commerce and the Downtown
Business Association to help small
and large businesses come here
and stay here. We also meet with
large employers annually to find
out whether we are standing in the
way of anything they want to do or
if they have problems we can help
resolve. We recently met with Var-
ian and our two major hospitals.
DB: And what did they complain
about?
MR: Traffic. Everyone complains
about traffic. They mostly complain
about Ygnacio Valley Road. So
we’re investing in a sophisticated
new system to speed the flow of
traffic on Ygnacio Valley Road.
DB: Will that affect the kids cross-
ing Ygnacio Valley Road in the
morning on the way to WCI?
MR: We spent a lot of money on a
foot bridge that is half a block away
from the corner of Walnut that goes
right to the school. The kids may
need to get up five minutes earlier
so they can use it.
DB: So for all the traffic, retail and
business offices, what’s in it for the
residents?
MR: We get 22 parks, 2700 acres
of open space, the Shadelands Art
Center, the new library, the skate
park, the dog park, a teen website,
and crisis counselors at all the
school sites, downtown parking
garages, free movies in the park,
the Free Ride, the South Broadway
extension and improved freeway
on-ramps at Lawrence Way.
DB: Do you think Walnut Creek
still has the wonderful atmosphere
it had for families when you were
raising your four children?
MR: It does and it has expanded.
We have many more activities for
kids today than we did when my
kids were young. And it will con-
tinue because we have very good
schools and amenities for families.
I was pleased that Walnut Creek
was recently recognized by US
News and World Report as one of
the best places to retire. But we also
want to be known as a good city for
families. The enrollment figures are
up this year for the Walnut Creek
School District because families
continue to move here.
DB: Thank you, Mayor Regalia.