Environmentalism has long been a priority for Marin County Supervisor Charles McGlashan. A fifth-generation Californian who spent his formative years in Truckee, Hillsborough and Santa Barbara, McGlashan remembers “running around the mountains above Donner Lake every summer as a kid. [My priorities were] bred deep by my early years in those incredible trees and waters. I went to school looking for a way to connect this love of nature with my work.”
After graduating from Yale with a degree in English literature and then Stanford Business School, he worked for a time in corporate finance before embarking on a 15-year career as a management consultant addressing sustainability and environmental issues. “My mom wanted me to be president,” he remembers, “but I got addicted [to politics] fairly late in life, after finding that local government could be a rewarding place to work on environmental issues.”
Through the years, McGlashan has been involved with a number of worthy organizations, including the Sierra Club, Marin Conservation League, Environmental Education Council of Marin, Sustainable Conservation, the Peninsula Conservation Center Foundation, North Bay Sustainability Center and City CarShare, among others. Asked to name one of his proudest moments, he responds, “Communicating the profound and critical link between our environment, vital communities and business during my 2004 campaign. I loved painting that vision and love working on it now. People enjoy supporting it, too.”
Are you a creature of habit? Explain.
No. My favorite thing is a day with no structure; I savor the open slate of free time.
Did you do anything wild when you were a teen?
It was the mid-1970s, and I’m happy to say it was about fast cars, beaches, surfing and the “fairer gender,” not any hard stuff.
Do you have a junk drawer? What’s in it?
I have a new junk garage that I adore. Everything from backpacks to bikes to electronic gear. Even my dad’s workbench. It’s a joy to have a place for projects.
Do you play a sport?
I’m a pretty good mountain biker; technical climbs are my thing.
If you could possess an extraordinary talent in one of the arts, what would you like it to be?
I always wanted to be Jean Michel Jarre, with an amazing talent on the moog synthesizer. Do they still use those?
How did you meet your spouse?
My business partner hired my future wife at our small environmental consulting firm in 2000. It was quite the scandal for a couple weeks. Carol and I are coming up on five years now, and she’s the best environmentalist I know.
How have your priorities changed over time?
I’m getting greener as the seas rise.
If you could have personally witnessed one event in history, what would you want to have seen?
The planting of the New Forest by William the Conqueror.
If you were to die and come back as a person, animal or thing, what would you choose?
I’m pretty darn happy as is. But if I were an animal, I’d want to be my cat Zak. He cracks me up.
When you’re at home alone, do you wear shoes, socks or go barefoot?
In deference to my surfing heritage, it’s bare feet, ASAP.
Of all the tools and gadgets you own, which one do you most enjoy using?
I have a Phillips ratcheting screwdriver that I love.
What did you think you were going to be when you were in college?
A lawyer…and then I worked in law firms.
If you could visit with any person in history (alive or dead), who would it be and what would you ask?
Mohammed or Jesus. I’d ask what we should do about fundamentalism and the rejection of science and intelligence in government.
What food do you eat almost every day?
Chocolate. Too much.
What items do you currently have stored in the trunk of your car?
Bike gear, water and emergency kit, warm coat for sudden bayside walks, gym bag, big legal brief case full of unread articles for the gym, jumper cables and reusable shopping bags. I’ve made peace with the idea of walking back out to the parking lot to get those.
What lesson did you have to learn the hard way?
To stop telling people what I thought they wanted to hear. Terrible habit for a politician.
