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The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of San Jose/Santa Clara in partnership with the San Jose Mercury News and asked of all candidates for this office.
See below for questions on
Growth,
Mayor vs. Manager,
Public Safety,
City Finances
Click on a name for candidate information. See also more information about this contest.
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1. There are proposals to add 30,000 houses and more office space in North San Jose, thousands more homes in Evergreen and to build a new community in the Coyote Valley. There has been no in-depth study of how these plans will affect one another or services throughout the city. Should San Jose complete a thorough, public review of its general plan for growth before approving any more major development plans? Silicon Valley needs more housing, but San Jose needs more jobs to strengthen its tax base. How would you balance those conflicting pressures?
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Answer from Pierluigi Oliverio:
Development in the North San Jose corridor makes sense since High Tech companies have historically located there. Light Rail runs the entire length so I support companies abilities to build higher and for high density housing and retail to go along with it. We should strive for mixed use development. Jobs and housing are equally important. IN addition I want a vibrant Downtown with high density infill development.As far as Evergreen and Coyote we need to have a review of the General Plan before moving forward.
Answer from Clark Williams:
As a District 6 neighborhood leader, I have long called for an update to our city's General Plan. Far too often, I have seen our city makes poor land use decisions due, in part, to an outdated General Plan that fails to protect the character of our vintage neighborhoods. As a councilmember, I will advocate for land use policies that protect our neighborhoods from poorly planned development proposals.
To resolve the continued imbalance between jobs and housing, I will strongly encourage all of our city residents - including our District 6 neighborhood and business leaders - to join the community planning process associated with the General Plan update. Only through community collaboration and creative problem-solving will our city best be able to resolve our land use conflicts.
Answer from Art Maurice:
A thorough, public review of San Jose's general plan is needed but we can't put everything on hold while we do this. San Jose is in a precarious position because it needs more housing but if you compare San Jose to the other cities in Silicon Valley you'll see that the business to housing ratio is higher, thus other cities have a higher tax base. With that in mind San Jose has to bring in more businesses. Whether it is at North San Jose, Evergreen or Coyote Valley we need to keep San Jose growing. The real question may be, do we need to develop all three areas at once? Considering our budget and the general plan it would be prudent to develop one area at a time.
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2. San Jose has a council/manager form of government. Over the past few years the balance of power has shifted toward the mayor and there are some elected officials who support this stronger role for the mayor. Should San Jose move to a strong-mayor form of government or have a strong professional administrator? What kind of city manager will you look for?
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Answer from Clark Williams:
I support the council/manager form of city government and believe that the mayor and city council need to fully respect the important balance between policy-making and city administration. As our city studies this matter, I will strongly advocate for full public participation so that our city residents can fully appreciate the implications of any proposed changes to the city charter.
Hiring a city manager will be one of the most important decisions before the next city council. As a non-profit executive with experience in identifying and hiring good staff, I will look for a city manager with solid academic credentials, impeccable technical skills, strong leadership traits, respect for public participation and a core set of values and ethics.
Answer from Art Maurice:
Strong leadership is what's needed. San Jose needs both a strong mayor and a strong city manager. The power shift occurred because the mayor was stronger than the city manager. We need a mayor who has a vision of what San Jose should be and a city manager who can make it happen. It works best when the two work in conjunction but the city manager needs to step up when the mayor is driving too hard.
Answer from Pierluigi Oliverio:
I believe in a strong Mayor and a strong City Manager; one to be the leader in policy and vision and the other to be the leader in professional administration and quality city services. We should seek a proven professional City Manager with experience in delivering a high quality level of services to citizens and who thinks out of the box. One that has a track record of ethical behavior in working with elected officials and one that is not shy to speak out when necessary for the good of the City.
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3. Safety often includes services such as homework centers and code enforcement for neighborhoods, but the city budget now being prepared could cut much needed services. If there is no other source of funds to maintain safety-related centers and gang prevention, would you consider reducing the funds going to support the police and fire departments? Can the growing costs of police and for pensions be covered without depleting funds for other community service in the future?
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Answer from Pierluigi Oliverio:
The only long term solution is to grow the economy. By using technology we could cut waste and inefficiency. After school programs and code enforcement are part of the safety related services we should fund. I cannot promise that these programs are untouchable, but they would not be preferred choices for cuts. Since police and fire are the most essential services the budget consequences have to be carefully evaluated and most likely other services will suffer first.
Answer from Art Maurice:
With the annexation of the unincorporated areas of district 6 the police and fire departments will need more funding. These are services that we can't live without and it would be dangerous to stretch them too thin. Homework centers and code enforcement are also important but there are ways we can save the city money. When I was president of our neighborhood association I got a call from code enforcement about an elderly man who's backyard ivy was growing over his fence into the neighbor's yard. This man did not have the money to hire someone and he had an oxygen tank for breathing so he couldn't do it himself. After doing some research and making a couple calls I found a Boy Scout group that needed a merit badge. It was a win-win-win situation. A win for the elderly man, a win for the Boy Scouts and a win for San Jose. A lot of problems can be solved this way if San Jose would just do its homework. As your councilman I would make my office my homework center.
Answer from Clark Williams:
As a District 6 neighborhood leader and a member of multiple boards and commissions, I have fought for programs and services that improve the quality of life for our city residents + including more code enforcement officers and an expansion of our city's homework centers. As a parent and a neighborhood advocate, I will not support any reductions to our trusted public safety programs and services.
In addition to strengthening its tax base through strategic economic development programs that highlight job growth opportunities, our city must make improving the quality of life for our families and our neighborhoods a top priority.
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4. Money to maintain and operate the city’s public facilities such as parks and libraries is in shorter and shorter supply. So while new or expanded community centers have been proposed previously, the city is looking at closing or privatizing up to 30 existing centers it cannot afford to operate. Should the city re-examine its plans to add parks and other public facilities? Are there services the city could cut to find money for these highly valued ones?
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Answer from Pierluigi Oliverio:
There is nothing more sad to residents than to build facilities only to close them due to lack of operating funds. But our future will have better economic times and creating new parks is absolutely in that future. As an outsider, I am not beholden to any particular special interest. I am ready to go in and find creative solutions to balancing the budget. I will find new ways to use staff more effectively, reengineer administrative tasks, and establish a complete line-item budget for the council's review and adoption.
We need to retain and recruit small and mid-size companies to San Jose. This will make the pie bigger so we can afford the services our citizens deserve.
Answer from Clark Williams:
The fact that San Jose is building and opening parks and community centers without being able to adequately staff or maintain them is one of the greatest challenges to our city's quality of life.
Like many families in San Jose, my family and I take full advantage of our city's wonderful parks and community centers. Yet, even as more parks and community centers are being built, we have seen a dramatic decline in funding for the maintenance, care and staffing of these recreational facilities. Through no fault of our city's over-burdened city employees, even our newest parks and community centers are showing the wear and tear of standard recreational uses.
In many neighborhoods, residents living near our parks, trails and open spaces have been stepping up to halt the deterioration of our city's parks by cleaning up trash and other waste. However, as the city maintains responsibility for maintenance of our parks and recreation facilities, I believe that we should consider increasing the portion of the construction and conveyance tax set aside for park maintenance. Also, the city should prioritize and expand the "Adopt a Park" program that recruits and trains city residents and community-based organizations to care and nurture our city's parks, trails and open spaces.
Finding resources to build and maintain new parks and community centers is complex and we must be pragmatic when addressing the issue. The city must always be looking for new sources of revenue sources while ensuring that new housing pays for itself without diminishing our city services. One concept that should be considered is land banking, especially in neighborhoods that are park deficient. While the city may not have resources now to maintain a public park, we should not allow any neighborhood to go without one for eternity. Within all legal bounds, the city should use its capital monies to reserve land for park space so a park may be constructed in the future. Quite simply, parks are essential to maintaining the quality of life in our neighborhoods.
As a non-profit management consultant, I support city efforts to find appropriate community partners to operate our community centers. However, I have opposed the community center re-use strategy--as originally designed--for the policy failed to properly address key concerns from the non-profit community and from residents most impacted by the proposed strategy. If the community center re-use strategy is to move forward, the city will need to work more closely with the non-profit community in designing a common-sense, fair and equitable strategy that will meets the service needs of all constituencies in our city.
Answer from Art Maurice:
I got an email from a homeowner, in district 6, who bought a town home next to a beautiful park only to find the city didn't have the funds to maintain it. It got to the point where the neighbors got together and cleaned the park themselves out of frustration. It is a waste of resources to build something beautiful and not maintain it. Before the city makes any cuts it should look into sharing facilities. We have three struggling theaters; the San Jose Repertory Theater, the Mexican Heritage Corp. and the American Musical Theater of San Jose. Do we really need three theaters? Is it possible for them to share one? Yes sharing is tough and it puts a lot of strain on the theater groups but it is better than nothing.
Responses to questions asked of each candidate
are reproduced as submitted to the League.
Candidates' responses are not edited or corrected by the League.
The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.
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League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
