SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – South Tahoe Now emailed all 13 South Lake Tahoe City Council candidates the same questions so voters could get to know them before deciding on the November 3, 2026 ballot. They will be published in the order received along with photos they provided. South Tahoe Now also emailed the two candidates for City Clerk with their own set of questions. Not all candidates replied, so the public will be unable to read their responses.
The following is from Gantt Miller:
Name: Gantt Miller
How long have you lived full-time in South Lake Tahoe? 21 years
What is your occupation? Architectural Window Representative
What is your education? Bachelor’s in American History and Teaching Certification – The University of Denver
Master’s in Educational Leadership – The University of Pennsylvania
What makes you qualified to be on City Council? I bring a combination of business experience, community involvement, and a lifelong belief in good government. As a former history and civics teacher, I care about how government works and believe strongly in respectful debate, accountability, and public discourse. Professionally, I’ve spent two decades building Winco Window Company’s Northern California market from essentially zero into one of the company’s strongest architectural sales territories. That work requires bringing architects, contractors, owners, manufacturers, and public agencies together to solve problems and get projects built. Most importantly, I’ve spent twenty years investing in this community. I’ve volunteered with our schools, youth sports, Rotary, TAP, TAMBA, Scouts, and many other organizations, and my family has served as a foster family to scores of children and families in crisis. I know this community, I know how to work with people who don’t always agree, and I’m ready to do the work.
What is your level of understanding of the Brown Act and other council procedures? Do you feel agenda item deliberations could be streamlined? As a former civics teacher, I taught about the Enlightenment and the philosophical origins of the Brown Act and the principle of transparency, that the public’s business should be conducted in public. I understand its fundamental requirements regarding open meetings, public notice, agendas, public comment, and communications among Councilmembers. As a representative I plan to do my homework and come to meetings having read the staff reports, having asked appropriate questions in advance, and having prepared to deliberate. I will advocate for community-centric values that protect the culture and viability of our home. Good preparation can make meetings shorter and decisions more logical without cutting the public out of the process.
Have you ever served on a commission or committee for the City of South Lake Tahoe? If so, what was it? Or, have you served other communities in this capacity in the past? I have not served on a specific City commission or committee. My community service has largely happened outside City Hall, through our schools, youth sports, Boy Scouts, service organizations, TAP, TAMBA, hosting Rotary exchange students, TCC, PABA, and other community organizations. My family has also served as a foster family. I believe that perspective has value. City government needs people who understand its processes, but it also needs people who know this community from the soccer field, the classroom, the trail, local businesses, and the kitchen table. That’s the perspective I would bring to Council.
If you served in previous leadership roles, please name them. Is there anything you wish you’d done differently, and how would you use those lessons on council? I’ve held leadership roles professionally and through a variety of community organizations, but some of my most important leadership experience has come from building my business. I’ve spent two decades developing Winco Window Company’s Northern California market, coordinating people with very different interests and building long-term professional relationships. One lesson I’ve learned is to listen earlier. It is much easier to solve a problem when you understand what everyone actually needs before people become entrenched in positions. I’ve also learned that being right isn’t enough. If you can’t communicate your idea, earn trust, and bring other people along, you’re unlikely to accomplish much. That lesson applies directly to City Council. I’ll have strong opinions, but I’ll listen, do my homework, look for common ground, and be willing to change my mind when somebody makes a better argument.
If elected, how do you plan on representing the community? If they don’t attend meetings in person, how will you know what they want? How would you get more citizens engaged? I’m already fortunate to interact with a broad cross-section of this community—partly by choice and partly because I have four very involved kids and an amazingly social wife. Between schools, sports, nonprofits, clubs, businesses, and community organizations, I’m constantly talking with people who may never attend a Council meeting. I want to keep meeting people where they are rather than expecting everyone to come to City Hall. One specific commitment I’ve made is a monthly “Council Coffee” at different locally owned coffee shops (apologies to my daughter who loves Starbucks, but I won’t be going there). The plan is to just listen and share, no podium and no agenda, just an opportunity to talk about what’s working, what isn’t, and what City Hall might be missing. I want residents to feel welcome participating whether they agree with me or not.
How important is an ethics policy and decorum policy for City Council, and why? What should these policies include? They are extremely important. Councilmembers should be held to a higher standard of conduct, not a lower one. As a history and civics teacher, I taught my students the principle often associated with Voltaire: I can strongly disagree with what you say while fiercely defending your right to say it. Good government requires not merely tolerating dissent, but valuing it.
An ethics policy should establish clear expectations regarding conflicts of interest, transparency, use of public resources, disclosure, and the responsibilities that come with public office. A decorum policy should require Councilmembers to treat colleagues, staff, and particularly members of the public with respect. Disagreement is an essential part of democracy. Disrespect doesn’t have to be. People should be able to criticize their government, without feeling intimidated or unwelcome. Councilmembers should model the civility and respect we expect from everyone else.
Is there anything in your past that could come to the surface if elected? If so, what is it? No. Just my many rants as “Tahoe Dad” against the abominable Hwy 50 “Snow Snake.”
Do you think a councilmember represents the City at all times, and why or why not? Yes, once you accept public office, you also accept that your conduct reflects on the institution and the people you represent. I will always remember that the title comes with a responsibility to conduct myself with integrity and treat people with respect, not just at City Hall, but in our community. Public trust is difficult to earn and remarkably easy to lose. Every Councilmember has a solemn responsibility to walk the walk, to live the values for which our community elected them.
When council divides up the list of assignments for councilmembers, what boards would you want to sit on and why? I would be particularly interested in assignments involving transportation, housing, economic development, and regional cooperation. Those issues are deeply interconnected in Tahoe and are central to why I’m running. I want us thinking much more boldly about transportation: a truly interconnected network of separated Class 1 bike paths and simple, frequent transit that residents and visitors actually want to use. I’m also interested in the intersection between housing and economic development: creating more attainable housing while building vibrant, walkable centers where locally owned businesses can thrive.That said, Council assignments aren’t trophies. I would be willing to serve wherever my colleagues believe my experience and energy can be most useful.
What are the top concerns the council should be focusing on? My top priorities are housing, safety, and preserving South Lake Tahoe as a real community.
We need more housing, but we also need more of our existing housing to work for the people who make South Lake Tahoe work. That means saying yes to more solutions: projects like Sugar Pine Village, ADUs, Lease to Locals, easier permitting, rental assistance, and other strategies that prove effective. Safety means reimagining how we move around town. Our streets are too fast and aggressive, and pedestrians, cyclists, and e-bike riders have too many interactions with highway-speed traffic. I want interconnected, protected bike infrastructure and transit that is frequent, intuitive, and useful enough that people choose it.
My larger goal is keeping South Lake Tahoe a community where working families, children, and retirees can thrive, not another mountain town where only the wealthy can afford to live.
What is the role of a city council on economic development? Do you think we should be attracting new types of businesses, and if so, what are they? City Council should create the conditions where good local ideas and businesses can start, invest, grow, and hire. I’ve spent twenty years doing exactly that in my own career, building Winco Window Company’s Northern California market from essentially nothing. Sustainable growth comes from relationships, persistence, predictability, and making it easier for people to do business. I want South Lake Tahoe to continue to diversify beyond our historic dependence on tourism and hospitality. We should welcome businesses and professionals who bring year-round, higher-wage employment. It’s not just about the volume of visitors. It’s about the volume of other viable economic pathways to making it work in Tahoe. What I really want for South Lake Tahoe is more funky, small, walkable economic centers interspersed throughout town; like Harrison Avenue, Ski Run, the Crossing at the Y, and potentially Tahoe Keys Marina, where infrastructure creates places for locally owned businesses to thrive.
What are your favorite things to do in Tahoe? My favorite activities in Tahoe are anything that gets me outside in the mountains with friends and family, having adventures and laughing together.
- Rock climbing
- Backcountry skiing
- Mountain biking
- Going for swim at the beach
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I “Gantt” Stop Thinking about Tomorrow.
I “Gantt” Wait to Get to Work for our Tahoe Community.
Don’t say Can’t. Vote Gantt.