After years of service to her community and her party plus lots of hard work, Doris Gentry has won a seat on the Napa City Council.  It's quite a story.
 
Doris Gentry was born in Rosiclare, in Southern Illinois, to a family with four generations of leaders, going back to her great-great-grandpa, who served in the Civil War and as a judge.
 
Gentry owned corporations coast to coast, serving as Executive Director and CEO.  She  managed a corporation of 2,500 employees and multi-million dollar budgets.  She has also been a teacher for 35 years.
 
She served on a 5 County Regional Planning Commission for 5 years.  Working as the Business Development Specialist, she handled multi-million dollar loans and networked local governments with federal and state grants to help cities re-build failing infrastructure.
 
Doris had a rough time growing up: instability, moving, missing school, on her own at age 14.  This inspired her to create the kind of foster home that she never had, one with open communication and belief in kids.

Doris Gentry has lived in Napa for 27 years and together with husband Jim raised 4 children, 6 grandchildren and over 100 foster kids in their home.
 
Doris is also proud of her community organizing.  She is a formidable force in the community.  Some of her work includes:

 
- Chair of the Napa 4th of July Parade since January 2009
- Chair, annual Chocolate & Wine benefit for Napa foster kids since 2009
- Chair of the Napa County Task Force on Sex Trafficking since 2014
- Chair, Annual Sex Trafficking Conference for 400 guests
- Host & Producer of "Talk so Kids Listen" live radio show on 1440 KVON Radio
  

In addition, Gentry has been active as a Republican.  She was the Party's nominee for state Assembly in 2008 and 2010.  She served as a CRP delegate and member of the state Platform Committee.  In 2012 she made her first run for Napa City Council.
 
Her campaign this year was unconventional in several respects.  She spent no money on mail.  Instead, she assembled a team of 40 neighborhood workers to contact voters.  She led them to meet voters face to face. 
 
"It's all boots on the ground," she says.  "We knocked on every door three times.  I raised less money but worked harder than the others."
  

Doris had a very specific message and stuck to it.  She says, "Whatever your sense of family is, a community will thrive when you strengthen the family."
 
She used her innovative website to help convey her message.  It has sections on Encouraging, Balancing, Caring, and Supporting, topics that express her deeply compassionate approach.  You can see her website here.
 
Ultimately, Doris defeated an appointed incumbent by about 8% of the vote.  We expect her high level of achievement to continue as a member of the Council.