Courtesy photo

Tracy Lynn Jensen

After consulting local politicos, school board member Tracy Lynn Jensen decided it was time to heed their advice and make the leap to the city council.

Jensen, who has served on the Alameda Unified School District's Board of Education since 2002, sought advice from Mayor Beverley Johnson, Assembly-woman Loni Hancock and State Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, who taught a leadership class to the city council candidate at Alameda High School.

All three encouraged Jensen to run and have thrown their support in her corner.

"Those are people I am close to, know well and whose opinions I trust," Jensen said. "They think I can help Alameda to be a great place for families, business and for the Bay Area."

Jensen said deciding to run was not easy. It wasn't until the passage of Measure H that she felt comfortable enough to leave the school board, knowing at least the district's finances were in order. If elected, Jensen pledged to step down from the Board of Education although she promised to stay on long enough to help search for a new superintendent.

The lifelong Alameda resident is looking forward to the chance to be a part of issues she is really concerned about. At the top of her list is the development of Alameda Point, alternative transportation and energy.

Number one on that list is assuring that the needs of Alameda families are being met. Jensen said she wants to make sure families have access to schools, parks and entertainment with a variety of transportation methods.

"I am the only one of the candidates that has a child that goes to public school in Alameda and that has a child in an after-school program...and really deals on a direct level with what it takes for families to be successful in Alameda," Jensen said.

Her experience gained working in state and local government also gives her an edge, she said. Jensen worked on health care issues in the 1990s after receiving a M.B.A from Atlanta's Emory University. She came back to the East Bay in 1999 and began working for the city of Oakland as the senior services administrator for the Department of Human Services where she oversees a $2 million budget.

"There are many things going on in Alameda and to be honest, I decided to run because things are happening quickly and I thought it would be a good time," Jensen said. "On a more personal note, my son is 7 and I really feel strongly that I want him to grow up in a thriving community. So I am doing this for Alameda and for my son."