Committed to the Public Good--A Profile of Kathleen Crawford

by Toni Fisher

Although relatively new to Placer County, Kathleen Crawford has fully involved herself in local government issues in both Placer County and the City of Roseville, continuing her many years of service in government and community work. She currently serves as the 2nd Vice Chair of the Placer County Democratic Central Committee and sits on the Board of the Sun City Democrats Club.

            What path did Kathleen follow to get where she is today? Born in Tucson, Arizona, while her dad completed his education on the G.I. Bill, achieving a degree in Pharmacy at the University of Arizona.  Finding a good position with a Sacramento pharmacy, he moved the family there while Kathleen was still young.  She resided in Sacramento, graduating from the University of CA, Davis, until she married and moved to Oakland with her husband.

            Her early years in Oakland were spent raising her two sons, but her friends and neighbors urged her to become involved with the troubled Oakland Unified School District, sensing her commitment to proper public service.  She was first appointed as an active member of the District Budget Advisory Committee as a community member, recommending policy decisions on human resources, labor relations and legislative issues. This work motivated Kathleen to seek and achieve an elected position on the Board of Education where she served for an extended five-year term.

            When she became a single mom of two young teens, she found that she needed to use her education and experience to find full employment.  In addition to her history degree from UC Davis, Kathleen participated in a Coro Public Affairs Training Program for Women and also received certification for Claims Adjusting in the Workers’ Compensation Division as well as a Certified Selection Analyst with the State Personnel Board.

            The next twenty-plus years brought Kathleen through a series of jobs beginning as a legal assistant with a law firm, then as a Claims Representative in the Workers’ Compensation Division of Pacific Gas & Electric and eventually with various government offices including the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, the Department of Corrections, Parole Region II, work with the Department of Industrial Relations Commission and, ultimately, as the Assistant Emergency Services Manager in the City of Oakland Office of Emergency Services.  Her work in all these roles reinforced her understanding of the importance of well-run public offices which meet the expectations of the citizenry whose taxes fund the offices.

            As Kathleen prepared to retire, she decided to move near one of her sons.  She chose Roseville rather than having to deal with the more extreme weather of Massachusetts, although she enjoys visiting that family each fall to keep up with her other grandchildren as they grow.  Roseville also offered the benefits of a Sun City development in which she is still happy to reside.

            It didn’t take long for Kathleen to follow her interest and use her experience to get involved in local government activities. From joining and contributing her knowledge to the Sun City Democrats Club to supporting the candidacy of several contenders for local and national offices, Kathleen found an important purpose, attending both the Roseville City Council and the Placer County Board of Supervisors’ meetings, even viewing the meetings virtually during the past months of shutdown. She is also now serving on the Measure E Citizens Oversight Committee for Sierra College and is an active member of the local AAUW (American Association of University Women).

            In her role as 2nd Vice Chair on the Central Committee, Kathleen keeps all meeting attendees updated on the activities of both government groups and alerts everyone to potential problems with future possible decisions by either group. Kathleen fills the same helpful, informative role for the Sun City members who highly appreciate her reports as well as her intelligent assessment and insights into these political activities.

            It’s not hard to see how much Kathleen enjoys observing the groups and sharing her thoughts for everyone’s benefit - and we’re glad she does!