Candidate for
City Council Member; City of Belmont

As a Planning Commissioner since 2004, I have studied many land use issues and learned how our City government works. It's estimated that over 80% of the issues dealt with by the City Council are land use issues.

Over time, I've become aware of what is right, what could stand improvement, and what it will take to guide Belmont into a bright future. As a Member of Belmont's City Council, I'll continue to gather feedback from residents and business owners and take a thoughtful and common-sense approach to retain our high quality of life and to keep our lovely town moving forward.

My extensive experience as a high-tech communications professional (with cutting-edge companies such as Sentilla, Apple Computer, Netscape Communications, and various high-tech startups) makes me uniquely qualified to drive programs to improve communication between residents, City government, and Belmont businesses.

As a mother, a long-time resident of Belmont, and a supporter of our neighborhoods, I'm committed to analyzing the issues and working hard to preserve the community values that make Belmont great: our beautiful hillsides, our revitalized neighborhoods, recreation opportunities for everyone, our diverse schools, our emerging downtown, and our satellite business areas. We need to focus on downtown development to revitalize our town and provide needed revenue for improvement of our infrastructure: roads, sewers, parks, and public buildings.

If you elect me to the Belmont City Council, I'll work with the City to:

• Revitalize our Downtown by supporting thoughtful "smart" development. City Staff has been working on many economic development plans: Village Center (in the area around the downtown Safeway) Firehouse Square (adjacent to the old Firehouse, Belmont Station (east of CalTrain). We don't need to develop the Sports Complex to meet our goals. There are also many opportunities for development and redevelopment of existing businesses along El Camino, north and south of Ralston.

• Improve resident-to-business communication. "Buying Local" is good for our residents, our economy, and the environment. Supporting our residents and our businesses is the heart of what it means to live in Belmont.

• Work diligently and creatively to grow, preserve, and maintain our parks and open space. Support recreational activities including team sports, biking, walking, skating, swimming, and boarding, and other activities.

• Solve gridlock on Ralston by creating new bike lanes to assure a place to bike from 280 to across Highway 101; implementing creative traffic control, creating safe walking lanes, and supporting incentives to encourage walking, use of mass transit, home offices, and carpooling. We need to move easily, yet gently, through our neighborhoods.

• Generate productive dialogs among residents, City Hall, and our many institutions. The Sports Complex issue is a good example of miscommunication generated by lack of understanding of what each side really wanted. Residents need to know how to get information and who to contact to solve their problems.