Muriel Strand, 53, City College student could be the next mayor of Sacramento. As a City College student, Strand’s first class was Ballroom Dancing in spring of 2007. This fall she will take American Sign Language (ASL) and administration of justice classes. As a mayoral candidate, Strand has one main goal: to get people out of their cars and to start using other sources of transportation that are safer for the environment.

“Fundamental changes are needed to avoid climate changes which will threaten not just civilization but our children and grandchildren,” says Strand.

With global warming being such a hot topic, Strand’s agenda seems timely. In 1988, after receiving a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from UC Berkeley, Strand got involved with the California Air Resources Board which dealt with the research and analysis of mobile and stationary combustion. Today, Strand’s vision is to make Sacramento a better place to live by putting sustainability first.

“Muriel is very practical and pragmatic and always scientifically looks for ways for people to make a difference,” says her long-time friend Darien De Lu.

She says she is now seeing people taking baby steps in trying to clean up the environment in a short-term sense, but looking towards the long-term is what will
make people happier and healthier. Strand emphasizes the advantages of Ecovillages, small communities with minimal ecological impact.

Strand, who was born in Berkeley, Calif. as the child of parents who experienced the Great Depression, says that the time of financial despair influenced her parents’ thinking and how they raised their daughter.

“I was raised to be self-reliant and non-conservative as a way of being successful in life,” says Strand.

“My parents weren’t fixated on being doctors, lawyers and engineers, but instead just finding your niche in life and just being who you are.”

For Strand, that niche might turn out to be the mayor of Sacramento.