Land Park attorney and city Design Commission Vice Chair Phyllis Newton is running for the District 4 seat on the City Council – so far a much-coveted seat since Rob Fong declared in October that he would not be running for re-election.

Newton, 55, said she decided to run for the City Council because she feels passionately about the city and has been civically engaged for almost a decade.

“I have watched the City Council very closely and have been concerned about factionalism and the lack of collaboration that I think impedes progress,” Newton said Wednesday.

Newton said she believes she will bring maturity and judgement to the City Council and the ability to work collaboratively with her colleagues.

“I have no interest in higher office,” Newton said. “That’s a very important distinction between me and current council members and possibly other candidates.”

Although Newton has never held an elected position, she said she has served in appointed positions with the city, including four years on the General Plan Advisory Committee – a position she was appointed to by former Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo.

Newton currently serves as the vice chair of the Design Commission, and she is a member of the Green Development Code Users Advisory Group for the city. Both positions are unpaid.

“The push in the city is toward sustainability,” Newton said, “so (the advisory group) looks at ways the city can encourage greener development.”

In addition to owning her own law firm – Law Offices of Phyllis A. Newton – she is the executive director of Miyamoto Global Disaster Relief, a nonprofit organization that provides disaster response and reconstruction services following natural disasters across the globe.

“I am honored to be part of (the Miyamoto) organization,” Newton said. “I refused to take a salary (at Miyamoto) because it’s a brand-new nonprofit in its infancy. It’s very satisfying to work on this project.”

Newton said she will be traveling for Miyamoto to Haiti in February. It will be her first trip in relation to her work with the disaster relief organization.

As the former executive director at American Institute of Architects Central Valley chapter, a professional association of architects, Newton said she gained valuable experience with the unique needs of nonprofit organizations.

Newton grew up in the Bay Area and attended law school in San Francisco, where she met her husband, Michael Carpenter, a contract lobbyist in Sacramento. The family moved to Sacramento 18 years ago, and they have lived in Land Park since 1995.

Some hot-button local government issues for Newton include the budget, job creation and public safety.

“The budget is decimated,” Newton said. “As a council member, you have limited options on the revenue side, so unfortunately you have to spend time making very difficult decisions.”

Newton said it is most important for council members to work collaboratively and strive to reach fair and equitable decisions when working on the budget.

“Cuts may have to be made,” Newton said, “but you have to be able to balance the closure of swimming pools and laying off police officers.”

Every candidate will talk about job creation, Newton said, but her focus is on creating the right environment and culture to bring jobs to the region.

“When someone doesn’t have a job and their house is being foreclosed on,” Newton said, “the ripple effect is wide and deep.”

Newton said the best thing the City Council can do is work to build up an environment where businesses want to locate in the city and stay here.

“Economic revitalization is crucial,” Newton said. “I think the arena would do more to revitalize downtown Sacramento and to revitalize our region than anything else at this point.”

Because the entertainment and sports complex proposal is still incomplete, Newton said it has to be considered conceptually right now. Still, the potential for jobs is significant to Newton.

“The economic engine that the arena represents is so significant that we have to see if we can make it work,” Newton said. “It may never pencil out, but I support the idea.”

Her number one priority for the city is public safety. “We’re talking about impacts to personal safety, property values and more,” Newton said. “Public safety goes well beyond that. It’s the No. 1 issue citizens really care about.”

Newton said there are always difficult decisions that have to be made concerning the police force and fire department and keeping safety a priority, even in a tough economy.

“I have seen many examples of politics before progress,” Newton said. “That needs to stop.”

Kim Anderson, executive director for American Institute of Architects Central Valley chapter, declined to comment on Newton’s bid for City Council. Anderson became executive director of AIA after Newton’s departure in 2007.

“The chapter doesn’t have a policy for endorsement,” Anderson said Thursday. “But we are in the process of evaluating candidates.”

Anderson said the chapter held a candidates forum Thursday that included all of the candidates for District 4 – including a newcomer to the race, local architect Joe Yee.

Calls to Newton’s campaign managers for comment were not returned by press time.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.