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San Mateo County, CA November 8, 2005 Election
Smart Voter

The Future of Foster City

By John Thomas Kiramis

Candidate for Council Member; City of Foster City

This information is provided by the candidate
Thoughts on Foster City and it's Future
Foster City is at a crossroads and the direction Foster City chooses to take will become a key-determining factor as to whether Foster City keeps its fiscal vitality in the future. We cannot afford to rely upon property and sales tax as the broader base of our revenue stream. We need to explore innovative ways and means of generating income so as to broaden our community's tax base and keep it resilient from the turning tides of the economy.

T. Jack Foster donated the land to build a high-school within our community. I believe in the innovation and imagination that T. Jack Foster set forth to implement his great vision by the bay. That is why I believe the time is now for Foster City to complete the dream and build that high-school. Foster City's growth has and will continue to embody the spirit and imagination of Mr. Foster. We need to draw upon that spirit and imagination if we are to keep our community as that premier place to live.

One of the issues that I keep reading in the newspaper is that Foster City should be rezoning and redeveloping our aging shopping centers and R & D business parks to be utilized for more high-density homes. The premise being that this will generate more property tax. What this venue fails to take into account is the burden it will place on our aging infrastructure as well as our parks, city services and traffic patterns. Property taxes are not the ends to the means, we must look to a future that will provide additional sources of revenue without continuing to burden the home owners exclusively in Foster City.

When I decided to seek elected office I chose a path. My decision was to go door to door and meet with each and every citizen in our community and earn their vote by conveying a message that makes sense. The other reason I chose to take this pilgrimmage was to get in touch with you, the citizens of our City to get feedback on the issues that concern you. My quest has turned into an informative venture and I will utilize that information should I be your elected choice for office.

You should also know that I chose not to raise campaign funds because I did not want to position myself in the future where I would be indebted to any entity, person or group. I believe this will provide me with the best avenue to serve you the people, not the interests that supported me. Thank you.

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ca/sm Created from information supplied by the candidate: November 4, 2005 22:18
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