Election Profile: Scott Zeller – Orinda City Council Candidate

Dr. Scott Zeller is the chief of Psychiatric Emergency Services in Alameda County, one of the busiest such programs in the United States. Besides practicing medicine there, his duties involve regular interactions with leaders in government, police, fire, ambulance and employee unions. He believes this experience has prepared him well for the City Council.

Dr. Zeller has also started several successful businesses. He is president of the American Association for Emergency Psychiatry. He was also medical director of the emergency psychiatry clinic at the Houston Astrodome for Hurricane Katrina evacuees. He is co-author of a leading textbook of emergency psychiatry. Dr. Zeller received a medical degree from Northwestern University and did residency training at University of California, San Francisco.

Lamorinda Patch: Do you have a particular platform or issue of interest this election year?

I am very concerned about the proposed Downtown Plan, which calls for bulldozing parts of Orinda while raising the city building height limits, thus allowing for construction of high-rise condos. I believe that most Orinda residents like our small-town, semi-rural community and are opposed to turning our quaint downtown into a transit village. I will work for positive alternatives in the spirit of the city's original General Plan, which calls for maintaining our village character, preserving our views, limiting building heights, and encouraging retail which serves local needs.

LamorindaPatch: What are your plans for Orinda if elected?

I will be a city council member who listens to the concerns of all Orinda residents and, learning from their input, acts in their best interests. I will work to find solutions to improve the roads and infrastructure. I cherish living in Orinda and will work to make sure that many generations to come will cherish our unique city as well.