Leadership Rooted in Experience.

For 17 years, I’ve helped cities bring different perspectives together, use resources wisely, and turn community priorities into practical solutions. Now I want to bring that experience home and put it to work for Claremont.

MEET ANNA

MY EXPERIENCE

My priorities

Some streets and intersections in Claremont simply aren’t as safe as they should be.

Safe streets matter to all of us, whether we’re driving, walking, biking, or looking out for the people we care about. As a parent with kids who are now biking to school, this priority is also personal to me. To understand where Claremont can make the biggest difference, I’ve met with Claremont Streets for People, City engineers, and residents about the streets and intersections they worry about most.

Lower speed limits are an important step, and I advocated for Claremont’s recent reductions. But signs alone aren’t enough. We need practical improvements that make it safer to drive, walk, and bike, and a process that helps good safety ideas move forward.

What I’ll work on:

Lower speed limits around our schools. Follow La Verne’s lead and adopt AB 382 now, reducing school-zone speed limits from 25 mph to 20 mph rather than waiting until the statewide requirement takes effect in 2031.

Make neighborhood traffic calming easier to achieve. Claremont’s current policy can require property owners to pay for traffic-calming improvements on their streets. The City has been considering an update to that policy for years. I want to make sure we create a process where safety improvements are based on need, not on whether a neighborhood can afford to pay for them.

Fix dangerous streets and intersections first. Use collision data and what we hear from residents to identify where improvements are needed most, then bring residents, community groups, and City staff together to find practical solutions to help good ideas move forward.
Local businesses are a big part of what makes Claremont feel like Claremont, and residents are understandably worried about losing the places they love.

As a small business owner myself, I understand how much work it takes to keep a business running. The City already has tools to support businesses and works closely with the Claremont Chamber of Commerce, but I think we need to put more focus on helping established businesses remain in Claremont.

What I’ll work on:

Help longtime local businesses thrive. When a restaurant or shop that has been part of Claremont for years closes, we lose more than a storefront. I want to develop a business-retention incentive for established local retailers and restaurants that gives the City a concrete way to help businesses that have invested in Claremont stay here.

Be more intentional about the businesses we attract. When a storefront opens up, we should have a clearer sense of what our commercial areas are missing and what residents want. I want the City to work with the Chamber, property owners, and the business community to identify gaps and actively recruit businesses that complement what is already here.
Our parks and public spaces are where so much of community life happens, and they should reflect how residents actually use them.

My work on Claremont’s parks started with Lewis Park, where I organized families and worked with the City to push for a better playground shaped by community input. That experience led me to advocate for a citywide Park Facilities Improvement Plan, which the City has now adopted. Since then, I’ve continued talking with City staff, sports groups, Wilderness Park advocates, and residents about what our public spaces need next.

What I’ll work on:

Turn our park plan into improvements residents can see. Claremont now has a ten-year Park Facilities Improvement Plan. I want to see steady progress on those projects, with funding priorities that reflect current conditions and community needs and resident input early enough to shape the decisions.

Protect and care for the Wilderness Park. The Wilderness Park is one of Claremont’s most important public assets. The City has a responsibility to maintain and steward it for the long term, balancing preservation, wildfire preparedness, and recreation while being mindful of surrounding neighborhoods and working with community partners who care deeply about its future.

Make our sports fields safer and more usable. Local sports groups have raised concerns about field conditions, limited lighting, and inadequate usable field time. I want the City’s sports field plan to set clear expectations for upkeep and address improvements such as additional lighting and expanded field hours. We should also make sure youth sports organizations have a consistent and effective way to communicate their needs to the City and help shape future investments.

Create more ways for kids and teens to play. I believe community starts on the playground. I’ve advocated for a flagship inclusive playground that welcomes children of different abilities, as well as more outdoor spaces where older kids and teens can be active, gather, and spend time together.
Claremont has long valued sustainability and the natural environment. As we face hotter temperatures, drought, wildfire, and other climate-related challenges, we need to keep building on that tradition by using resources wisely, preparing for the risks ahead, and making thoughtful decisions about water, land use, transportation, and infrastructure.

My graduate degree in urban planning included a concentration in Sustainable Land Use Planning, and that perspective continues to shape how I approach these issues. I’ve also spent time talking with local experts in water policy, wildfire, and environmental planning, as well as residents and advocates working on walking, biking, and public transit. I’m proud to be endorsed by Claremont Streets for People. Those conversations have helped me focus on practical steps Claremont can take locally while working with regional partners where collaboration is essential.

What I’ll work on:

Build a more resilient water future. Water conservation should be part of how we operate year-round, not just something we think about during droughts. The City should continue reducing water use in parks and public spaces and investing in efficient irrigation and climate-appropriate landscaping as facilities are upgraded. We can also do more to help residents find and use existing rebates and incentives for turf replacement, smart irrigation, water-efficient landscaping, and other conservation measures. And we should look for more opportunities to capture stormwater locally and recharge our groundwater, working with Pomona, regional water agencies, LA County, and other partners to identify projects and outside funding.

Prepare for wildfire before an emergency happens. Parts of northern Claremont are in high and very high fire-hazard areas, and preparedness has to include both what happens around individual homes and how we plan the community as a whole. I want the City to be more proactive about helping residents understand defensible-space requirements and available assistance, maintaining and managing public open space responsibly, coordinating closely with LA County Fire and neighboring jurisdictions, and taking wildfire risk seriously when we make land-use and development decisions. Protecting the Wilderness Park and the neighborhoods around it should go hand in hand.

Make walking, biking, and transit easier choices. Claremont’s new Active Transportation Plan and the future A Line give us an opportunity to better connect our neighborhoods, schools, parks, Village, Colleges, and transit. I want to turn those plans into a connected network of sidewalks and bike routes, safer routes to school, better first- and last-mile connections to transit, and streets where walking, biking, and taking transit are realistic options for more trips.
Claremont should remain a place where people at different stages of life can find a home and stay in the community they love. That means creating more housing choices while being thoughtful about where and how we grow, preserving the housing we already have, and making sure our policies work for renters, property owners, and neighborhoods alike.

Housing and homelessness have been a significant part of my professional work with cities. I’ve also spent time understanding Claremont’s specific challenges, meeting with City leaders and talking with housing advocates, renters, developers, property owners, and residents about what we need next.

What I’ll work on:

Preserve affordable rentals and support owners of small rental properties. I want to explore low-cost or forgivable loans for needed repairs and improvements in exchange for keeping rental homes affordable for an agreed period. This could help owners maintain aging buildings while preserving existing affordable housing.

Help renters stay housed. I want to identify local or regional funding to continue Claremont’s rental-assistance program and partner with an experienced nonprofit to administer it. That would reduce the burden on City staff while helping residents access additional resources that can prevent displacement and homelessness.

Shape new development through strong design standards. As state law limits discretionary design review, Claremont needs clear standards for what gets built. I will make completing and adopting the City’s Objective Design Standards a priority so we can continue to shape new housing in ways that fit our community.

Prevent homelessness and strengthen street outreach. Preventing people from losing their housing in the first place should be a central part of Claremont’s approach to homelessness. I also want to strengthen consistent, relationship-based street outreach for people already experiencing homelessness, with strong service partnerships, better local data, and clear measures of what is working.
A responsible budget should do two things at once: meet today’s needs and plan for tomorrow.

Following Claremont’s 2026–28 budget process from beginning to end, meeting with the City Manager and Department Heads, and listening to residents has reinforced my belief that we need to do both. That same balance is why I pushed the City to develop a long-term Park Facilities Improvement Plan, so that needed improvements wouldn’t be addressed one project at a time without a plan for what comes next.

Fiscal responsibility means protecting that financial stability while also taking care of what we have, making thoughtful investments that improve quality of life, and planning ahead so today’s needs don’t become more expensive problems tomorrow.

What I’ll work on:

Protect our hard-earned financial stability. I support maintaining a strong emergency reserve and being disciplined about ongoing expenses. I also want Claremont to adopt a clear policy for how year-end surpluses are used, directing one-time dollars toward long-term needs such as pension liabilities, facilities, parks, and equipment rather than allowing them to accumulate without a plan.

Take care of what we have and invest where it matters. Financial stewardship means maintaining our parks, fields, streets, public facilities, and other infrastructure before problems become more expensive, and building reserves for necessary improvements when existing spaces no longer meet community needs.
Keeping Claremont safe means having a strong local police department and making sure we are prepared to have the right response for each situation.

I’ve spoken with Claremont’s current and former Police Chiefs, City leaders, and residents about what is working and where we can do better. I’ve also listened closely to families who have raised concerns about policing, transparency, and accountability, and looked at how other cities are improving mental-health response, de-escalation, and officer training.

I support a strong local Police Department while continuing to ask how we can respond better, build trust, and make sure our policies and practices reflect the high standards our community expects.

What I’ll work on:

Invest in keeping experienced officers in Claremont. A local Police Department works best when officers stay long enough to know our community and build relationships here. When we invest significant time and money recruiting and training officers only to lose them to better-paying departments, we lose that experience and have to start over. I want to make sure Claremont’s compensation remains competitive so we can recruit good officers, retain them, and build an experienced department with deep ties to the community.

Send the right response to the right call. Claremont recently partnered with Tri-City Mental Health’s Mobile Crisis Care Team to respond to nonviolent, noncriminal mental-health calls. I want to make sure that partnership works in practice, while also looking at where a co-response model, pairing behavioral-health professionals with officers, could help in situations that require both. We should have clear protocols for different types of calls and regularly evaluate where gaps remain.

Make transparency and accountability the standard. Residents should be able to understand the policies that guide public safety, how serious incidents are reviewed, and what partnerships and oversight are in place. Transparency does not mean compromising privacy or due process, but it should mean communicating clearly about the rules, the process, and any changes needed to improve safety and build trust.

Community Voice at the Center

Claremont has always been a community where people care deeply about the future of their city and show up to share their ideas. I will carry on that tradition by bringing residents into conversations early and making sure community voices help shape the decisions that affect our neighborhoods. When engagement is open, accessible, and meaningful, communities make better decisions and build stronger trust.

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Turning ideas into action in Claremont

When the City planned to replace the Lewis Park playground with one that was nearly identical, I saw an opportunity to make it better and more sustainable.

I founded Better Claremont Playgrounds, brought families together, and worked with City leaders to find a better path forward.

Together, we helped end the City's old like-for-like playground policy and create a more community-driven approach to planning our parks.

We didn't just redesign a park. We changed how decisions get made.

voices for anna

ROLONDO TALBOTT

Anna creates community, makes room for others, and helps people feel like they belong. She pairs that care with real experience turning community needs into practical solutions.

JOHN NEIUBER

Anna is a thoughtful, collaborative leader who listens to different viewpoints and makes informed decisions. I saw those qualities in her work founding Better Claremont Playgrounds.

KATE VOLTI

Anna has clarity on the aspects of Claremont life we should preserve, while having vision for the future. She understands what we need to do to prepare for a changing world and has clear thoughts on how to make our city better for residents.

AMANDA BELL

Anna is compassionate, strategic, and sharp on policy. What sets her apart is her ability to listen, build trust, and get things done. Claremont would be lucky to have her leadership.