Running for the People
My strongest qualifications for Lake Forest City Council come from running real businesses, managing money and people in volunteer organizations, and living the issues the city actually votes on.
Business ownership and operations. As co-owner and Responsible Managing Officer of D&G Rhodes Construction and owner of SMR Construction, I hold active California contractor licenses and have been responsible for jobs, payroll, contracts, insurance, permitting, and staying on budget. City Council work is similar: overseeing contracts, infrastructure projects, development review, and taxpayer dollars. I already speak the language of construction, timelines, and cost control that Lake Forest deals with every meeting.
Hands-on fiscal and organizational leadership. I served as PTA Treasurer and President at both junior high and high school levels and was recognized by the district for that service. I have direct experience with budgets, fundraising, public meetings, working with staff and parents, and being accountable to a community. Combined with earlier roles as a legal secretary and retail manager (including store-level P&L responsibility), I have a practical record of administration rather than just theory.
Deep local and family roots. Sixteen years in Lake Forest plus decades in the broader region, a blended family with five children and ten grandchildren, and a long pattern of church and community service gives me the “I live here and this is my neighborhood” credibility voters look for in a district race. I understand family needs, schools, parks, traffic, and the desire to keep the city’s character while allowing measured growth.
Service mindset plus fiscal conservatism. I have said service is how people feel loved and that I want the city to grow technologically without losing its beauty and family strengths. That combination—practical builder, volunteer leader, and resident who wants results rather than ideology—is a coherent case for a part-time, nonpartisan city council seat.
The office does not require prior elected experience. What it requires is the ability to read a budget, ask hard questions about contracts and development, represent a district, and show up. My construction licenses, PTA financial leadership, and years of running small businesses are the parts that most directly map onto those duties.
Smart growth that protects Lake Forest's character
I support technological and economic progress (better infrastructure, responsible development, business-friendly permitting) without sacrificing the city’s family-friendly neighborhoods, open space, parks, and suburban feel. This tracks directly with my stated goal of helping the community “grow technologically while maintaining its beauty and family strengths.”
Fiscal responsibility and taxpayer value
Keep city spending disciplined, avoid unnecessary tax or fee increases, and treat public money the way you treat a construction budget—transparent, efficient, and results-oriented. Lake Forest residents already feel the pressure of California’s high costs; a contractor’s eye for waste and a PTA treasurer’s experience with tight books makes me a natural fit for this.
Practical support for families, local businesses, and public safety
Focus on everyday livability: traffic and infrastructure that work, public safety, parks and recreation that serve families and grandchildren, and policies that make it easier for small businesses and contractors to operate here rather than adding red tape. My construction licenses, Etsy business, and decades of community service (PTA, church ministries, Exchange Club) give me first-hand knowledge of what working families and entrepreneurs actually need.
Woman leadership in Shari Rhodes...
Women leaders are rated higher than men on most competencies that actually move organizations: taking initiative, driving results, developing people, integrity, and collaboration. Those findings come from large 360-degree studies of working leaders, not from theory. The same pattern shows up as “transformational” leadership: I set a standard, then pull people toward it instead of just barking orders. That style is more common among women and is linked to better team performance.
Women are a small slice of the trades and of construction management. Crews that include women report stronger individual performance and better teamwork. Focus groups and contractor surveys keep pointing to communication, follow-through, and pride in the work. An owner who has already run jobs, held licenses, and kept the books has both the field credibility and the “see the whole job” view that job sites need. Mixed teams also solve problems better; more voices in the room raise collective intelligence.
Companies with more women in senior roles are more likely to outperform on profitability and long-term value. McKinsey’s repeated studies show the gap has widened over time, not shrunk. Women executives also tend to take fewer reckless risks while staying more open to useful innovation—exactly the mix a contractor needs when bids, weather, labor, and clients all move at once.
Store management, legal-office work, church and PTA leadership, and owning two construction companies plus an online shop force the same skills: hold people accountable and still keep them, manage cash and relationships at the same time, and keep going when the industry is built for someone else. That is resilience plus systems thinking. Leaders who have had to prove competence twice usually become more careful about quality and more generous about developing the next person—both of which compound.
None of this means every woman is a better leader than every man. It means the documented strengths—initiative, results focus, people development, holistic problem-solving, and lower appetite for stupid risk—are the ones I have already been practicing as an owner. In a field that still underuses those strengths, that is an advantage, not a footnote.
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