Graphic designer attributes her success to walking precincts and
being a woman
Morgan Hill – Marby Lee will bring conservative views to the Morgan Hill City Council, but she doesn’t envision an all-out war.
“You can disagree without being disagreeable,” said Lee, 40, who’ll be sworn in Dec. 6 for her first four-year term.
She’ll join council members Mark Grzan, Larry Carr and Greg Sellers, who was re-elected to a third term Nov. 6. Mayor-elect Steve Tate will be sworn in with Lee and Sellers, too.
“So far, all of my interactions with the council members have been positive,” said Lee, who’s married to Bryson Lee and has a five-year-old daughter named Meghan. “They all know I have some different views … and I plan to stick to my guns. But I don’t plan to make this a contentious council term.”
Lee is preparing for her new public job by reading city reports and meeting with top officials.
“Right now what I’m doing is meeting with staff … and making appointments with different people on the council,” she said, adding she’d also meet with residents to learn more about their concerns.
“I think the things I focussed on in my campaign, the budget, downtown (revitalization) and police and public safety are going to be the things I’m going to be focussing on,” Lee said.
Other council members want to focus on those issues but Lee promises to bring a more conservative approach. Her campaign advocated fiscal responsibility and better management of the Morgan Hill Redevelopment Agency. She said she’d put more police on the street before approving recreational spending and to back RDA spending to provide more incentives for businesses.
Lee believes her victory in the Nov. 6 election came as a result of walking precincts and, to some extent, being the only women out of five candidates. Now, she’ll be the only woman on the dais.
“I think not having a woman on the council certainly played a part in it,” Lee said. “It’s hard to say how much, but I certainly think that helped.”
Talking to people and letting them know where she stood played a bigger role, she said, allowing her to beat Chris Borello, Alex Kennett and Al Tervalon after Sellers beat everyone in the field by one of the largest margins in recent history.
Asked how she’d portray herself as an elected official, Lee said she’d just be herself. As to which committee assignments may peak her interest, Lee said she needs more time to decide.
“People have been asking me that,” she said, adding she hasn’t really thought about it. “I’ve just been spending a lot of time reading up on things … so I can have an understanding of where the council has been coming from.”
Lee decided to run for city council because she felt the city wasn’t listening to the voice of residents. Two years ago, she and others petitioned the city council to build the community’s new library at the civic center rather than downtown where elected officials were considering another site. They succeeded by influencing the council to follow their advice.
Tony Burchyns covers Morgan Hill for The Times. Reach him at (408) 779-4106 ext. 201 or tb*******@*************es.com.
