Scotts Valley Patch: What is your occupation?
Mark Stone: I am a County Supervisor, representing the Fifth
District of Santa Cruz County and the vice-chair of the California Coastal
Commission.
Patch: Where were you born?
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Stone: Santa Barbara.
Patch: Where were you educated?
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Stone: I graduated from Lynbrook High School in San Jose. I have a BA in English from the University of California, Berkeley and a JD from Santa Clara University.
Patch: How long have you lived in Scotts Valley?
Stone: My wife Kathy and I moved to Scotts Valley in May of 1993.
Patch: What brought you to the area?
Stone: We were living in Los Altos and, to accommodate a growing family, we needed a larger home and a smaller mortgage. That was still possible in Santa Cruz County in 1993. We looked around and liked Scotts Valley because of its schools and its proximity to Silicon Valley. I was working at Apple at the time.
Patch: What is something you are known for?
Stone: Regardless of anything else that I do or have done, the fact that I successfully swam the English Channel in 2009 is something that most people want to hear about. I’m also known for my environmental policies and my work with health and welfare issues affecting the county’s children.
Patch: What is your latest project?
Stone: I am running for the State Assembly.
Patch: Book you last read?
Stone: Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson. It is an honest take on the man and what he accomplished. I knew a lot of the people in the book, including Jobs. The book helped fill in some gaps in my knowledge, especially from the early years of the computer movement and Apple.
Patch: Newspaper or magazine you read regularly?
Stone: I read all of the local papers when they come out and I do a lot of headline searching of on-line sources like Patch. I also read the New York Times, The Economist and occasionally the Wall Street Journal. I do much of this on a smart phone.
Patch: Movie you could watch again and again?
Stone: Casablanca, Blade Runner, and the Star Wars movies come to mind. I like old black and white movies, especially old detective movies like the classic Humphrey Bogart films.
Patch: Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
Stone: Spare time? I love to go to the Sierras to ski in the winter and to fish in the other seasons or just to hang out. I seem to spend a lot of time on a computer and, of course, I like to swim. I haven’t been able to swim lately as much as I would/should like.
Patch: What is one of your most gratifying accomplishments?
Stone: All of the small accomplishments that I have been a part of as a member of the Board of Supervisors have certainly been gratifying, as is the ability to help the people I serve with their issues in the county. Of course, the English Channel is an accomplishment not many people have on their list. For me it was a very personal accomplishment and experience. As a public figure though, not much remains private.
Patch: What is your greatest indulgence?
Stone: Listing to the San Francisco Giants on the radio when I get the chance.
Patch: One of your most memorable vacations?
Stone: When I went to England in 2009, we took the whole family. We were there a month and traveled around England and Scotland by train. It was the summer that our daughter went away to college and our son was 15. It was an incredible opportunity to share with each other.
Patch: What is a goal you are chasing after?
Stone: My current, major goal is to represent the 29th Assembly District in Sacramento.
Patch: What do you like most about life in Scotts Valley?
Stone: Scotts Valley is a great example of a small town. It is well run and has a very active, engaged community. I enjoyed serving the community on the school board. It was an experience far more rewarding than I would have thought going in. After 16 years, we soon will no longer have a child in the Scotts Valley public schools, a big change for our family. I like living in a small town where most people know each other and we all have some very long-term friendships. We are also very fortunate to be able to live on the central coast.