Editor and Publisher, California Planning and Development Report; President and Director of Research, Solimar Research Group; Council Member for Ventura City Council Honorable William Fulton

Bill Fulton was elected to the Ventura City Council in 2003, culminating many years of professional experience and community involvement in local government affairs.

In his professional life, Bill is a well-known author and urban planning analyst. He is president of Solimar Research Group, a research and publishing firm based in Ventura. He is also the author of four books, including "The Reluctant Metropolis: The Politics of Urban Growth in Los Angeles", which was a Los Angeles Times best-seller, and "Guide to California Planning", the standard textbook on urban planning used in college courses throughout the state. He is frequently quoted on urban planning topics by newspapers and radio and television shows around the nation. He has also taught urban planning at Cal Poly Pomona, USC and UCSB. As a civic activist, Bill served as the chair of the citizen committee that produced Ventura's "Seize The Future" community vision, and chair of the City's Library Advisory Commission, helping to oversee construction of the new Avenue Library and renovation of E.P. Foster Library. He is also a trombonist.

Bill and his family have lived in Ventura since 1987. His mother, Fran Fulton, is an active library volunteer in Ventura and his daughter, Sara Torf Fulton, is a student at Foothill Technology High School. Bill grew up in Upstate New York and went to St. Bonaventure University, making him (at least as far as he knows) the only graduate of St. Bonaventure who lives in San Buenaventura. He also did graduate work in journalism at The American University in Washington, D.C., and in urban planning at UCLA.