There's a new face in City Councilwoman Nancy Pyle's District 10 office, but longtime Almaden resident Daniella Polar isn't a new face in the community.
Polar began as community outreach coordinator at Pyle's office in mid-June and is quickly becoming even more familiar with District 10.
Polar moved from the Blossom Hill area to Almaden when she was starting seventh grade at Bret Harte Middle School. After graduating from Leland High School, Polar studied at the University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated with degrees in economics and international policy.
Polar's familiarity with the district is an asset in Pyle's office, the councilwoman says.
"One reason she's so good for the job is the fact that she understands the district; she's a district resident," Pyle said. "And now she's the front-line person for the community."
Another asset Polar brings to the job is a second language, Pyle added.
"She's also bilingual. She speaks Spanish fluently," Pyle said. "In Almaden, we have a 14-percent Hispanic population, so she helps to broaden our access to all people in the district. We have other ethnicities in the district, but they predominantly speak English."
As community relations coordinator, Polar has jumped in by meeting people in the community.
"Right now I'm establishing contacts with all our neighborhood community associations," Polar said. "I meet with a lot of their presidents and I'm going to their meetings and making sure we understand the concerns of the community."
Pyle said she wanted Polar to be a way for the community to be in touch with the office.
"Our primary goal is under the category of 'access;' we want everyone to know they have access to our office," Pyle said. "But it's not always easy to convey. And we not only have to convey it, but back it up with meaningful follow-up."
Polar has been working with the Strong Neighborhoods initiative in the Hoffman-Via Monte neighborhood to help neighborhood association members learn how to deal with local problems.
"With respect to the community, Strong Neighborhoods are encouraged to be independent, but there are certain things the council member can do and we want to help them out," Polar said.
As her job title suggests, Polar's main goal is to relay the community's concerns to civic leaders at city hall.
"What Nancy really wanted me to do was just to get involved in the community and really reach out and see what everyone is concerned about, what they care about," Polar said. |
