The questions were prepared by the Leagues of Women Voters of Santa Clara County and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on , ,

Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest.

Answer from Craig Mann:

The Evergreen community has trusted me for over 10 years as an elected school board member having served as a Trustee for the East Side Union High School District from 1998-2006 and having been elected in 2006 to the Santa Clara County Board of Education. Over this period I have been responsible for overseeing over $2 billion dollars of taxpayer dollars and more importantly, the education of our children.

Additionally, I served as a Chief of Staff in City Hall managing a council member's staff and providing high degrees of constituent services for the district. I also served as Chair of San Jose's Human Rights Commission from 1995-1998.

Currently I am a Classroom Teacher, but for 20 years I was a Silicon Valley High Technology Manager having worked for FMC Corporation, Hitachi Data Systems and Solectron.

In summary, I have the necessary combination of public and private sector experience to transform City Hall's focus from politics as usual to real solutions that benefit our neighborhoods.

Answer from Rose Herrera:

As a former CEO I know what it takes to grow businesses. If we want to solve the city's budget crisis we need to evaluate the whole budge while exploring options to encourage businesses to locate to San Jose and thrive here. Having also worked on the Human Relations Committee I understand what it takes on a ground level to achieve results.

Answer from Minh Duong:

I feel that my personal background and experience as a successful small business owner and real estate investor brings a perspective sorely missing on the San Jose City Council. I bring a fresh perspective that's focus on the bottom line. As elected leaders, we must never violate the public trust. It is our responsibility to safe guard and manage public funds carefully as if it were our own money made through hard work, blood, sweat and tears.

When I was growing up my family was nearly homeless and definitely penniless. My father died when I was young, and I knew it would be my responsibility to provide for our family.

If elected to the City Council, I will take the same attitude. We must investment public funds wisely and every tax dollar we spend must yield a return on investment. Furthermore, the number one responsibility is to be responsive and implement the public will to the best of our abilities.

As your City Councilmember, I will bring enthusiasm, energy and an opened mindedness to try new things to get things done. For too long we've depended on politics as usual. City Hall needs fresh blood and new thinking to help manage the challenges ahead.

I have also been heavily involved in our community, serving in a number of civic and community organizations including:

• San Jose Small Business Development Commissioner
• San Jose Council Salary Setting Commissioner
• Chairman, Education Committee, District 8 Community Roundtable
• Member, San Jose Rotary Club-Enterprise Leadership Committee
• Vice President, Vietnamese American Committee Action Team
• Member, Evergreen Parents Task Force
• Member, District 8 Community Roundtable

If you want a candidate who brings real life experience, a commitment to the community, and a focus on the bottom line then I'm your candidate.

Answer from Pat Waite:

My extensive corporate experience will translate well into the business of city government. I have over twenty years of experience working with large, complex budgets, and, at over $3 billion annually, San Jose has a large, complex budget. As a 23+ year citizen of San Jose, I have first hand knowledge of and experience with the issues facing our city. We must achieve financial stability while improving community services. I'm committed to make this happen.

Answer from Craig Mann:

I am concerned with refocusing City Hall on the basics: Reducing traffic congestion, improving public education, enhancing public safety and improving neighborhood services. I will address them by ensuring that our finite budget resources are values aligned, increasing operational efficiencies and effectiveness and by working with our city employees in a collaborative effort to fix the structural budget deficit.

Answer from Minh Duong:

First and foremost, we need a strong local economy. This means economic development, job creation and the wise use of tax dollars. A strong health economy means a strong tax base which is critical and necessary to sustain vital government services as a police, fire, recreation and public safety. Government can and should play a role in provided tax incentives for job creation and well planned development. Locally and national our economy is in crisis, the mortgage meltdown and falling real estate prices are a particularly prominent in San Jose. However, in every crisis there is opportunity. We must use every resource available to government to find innovative and sensible opportunities in a downturn economy. We should make it easy for businesses to open, thrive and operate.

Second, we must ensure that we have a safe community. I will support local law enforcement to make sure they have the resources they need to keep our community safe. Law enforcement must aggressively pursue all crimes--large and small. A downturn the economy and an uptick in crime would be disaster and a dangerous downward spiral.

Finally, we must have sensible development that spurs economic growth and preserves the high quality of life we expect and demand here in San Jose.

Here a highlight of my view on other issues:

Public safety-More police, street lights, crime intervention and prevention.

Overcrowding Schools- Work with school districts to implement "Proof of Residence" programs to ensure that our children who live in the district have a fair opportunity to go to their home schools. We will work with state and county government as well as our community to promote more schools and educational services such after school programs and libraries.

Traffic Congestion- work with our state and county government to improve transportation infrastructure. Promote traffic calming through the use of speed bumps to reduce speeding.

Community Empowerment- Build neighborhood groups and support our them to financial self-sustainability.

Jobs & Managed Economic Growth-attract large and small businesses to the city to create jobs and boost tax base. Slows residential development but increase development and support for small businesses.

Solution & Prevention of Budget Deficit- Smart subsidies to attract large and medium size companies to the District and city to create jobs and a long term sustainable growth that will provide more tax revenue for our city to alleviate the budget problem.

Evergreen Clean & Green- Preserve open space & implement tree grants for neighborhood beautification. Promote Neighborhood Cleanliness campaign to create aware of the quality of life in the community. District 8 must be a highly desirable place to live.

Youth and Senior Services- Promote and support a home for our youth Evergreen Little League; so that our kids have a home sports playground to conduct healthy activities. As for our city seniors, they have worked and contributed to our city and community all their lives, it's time we take good care of our Seniors. I will work with our state and county government to create Senior assistance program to help pay for the difference in rising cost of living while our seniors receives an almost fixed income in their retirement age.

Open and Honest Governance- I believe that our government needs to be transparent and openly accessible to the public. I will work to ensure that our city government will inform our residents of all issues coming to the council and allow ample time for our community to give feedback. Our government should be honest and should reflect the voice of the people it serves.

Building Foundation for the Future- working with companies to support vocational training for the future work force and to promote research in green energy sector to meet ours goals of enabling half of our city to have solar panels on the rooftops in the next 10 years.

Answer from Pat Waite:

1) Quality of Life. This is a wonderful city. But we need to work hard to improve it. Affordable housing, well maintained roads and reasonable traffic, safe neighborhoods, and a more friendly business environment are important aspects of great cities. Our challenge is to deliver these, while at the same time balancing the budget, without increasing the tax burden on our citizens. 2) Smart growth. We need to ensure that additional development, whether industrial or residential, is consistent with a long term plan to create a balanced budget and fosters a high quality of life. 3) Educational Support. A good education is the foundation to a successful life. It opens doors and minimizes the effects of bad influences. We need to focus on providing solid after school support and activities for our children.

Answer from Rose Herrera:

Budget: As a businesswoman, I'll make sure city government is run efficiently and effectively. I founded a software company and grew it into a ten million dollar business. Running a city calls for the same skills as running a business; you need common sense and an ability to set priorities and say "no".

To solve our budget problems, we need a lean and efficient government that does not waste public money. This means cutting unnecessary and ineffective programs wherever possible, while preserving essential services like public safety and programs for young people and seniors.

We also need to find ways to increase revenue without raising taxes. We can do this by making San Jose a more business-friendly city; supporting local small businesses and providing further incentives for large companies looking to move to this region.

The residents of Evergreen have spoken loudly and clearly on what our priorities are for the city budget- Police, Potholes and Parks. As your councilmember I will fight to keep those high priority items at the top of the list and to ensure that the city budget will keep our city safe, our streets drivable and our parks beautiful and well-maintained.

Economic Development: I am a firm believer in intelligent and well-planned business development in Evergreen and throughout the entire city. We need to find ways to attract good companies and high-quality jobs to Evergreen and fulfill the promise of local employment for our residents so that we can spend less time commuting and more time in our community! As an experienced small-business owner and former CEO of my own technology startup, I firmly believe that we can attract companies to our district that will develop new technologies and bring new jobs to our district, and as your representative on the City Council I will fight to keep those jobs here where the technology is invented!

Traffic: The traffic situation in San Jose and District 8 is unacceptable. When we're trapped in a traffic jam, we spend less time working, relaxing and being with our families. And gridlock is bad for the health of our region. It increases air pollution and hurts our local economy.

We must take immediate steps to invest in public transportation and modernize our highways, including fixing the Yerba Buena/Capitol Expressway interchange to reduce congestion around Evergreen. I believe this is a regional problem with a regional solution. As councilmember, I will work with state and local government to find a lasting solution that keeps us moving.

In addition, I am a strong supporter of intelligent solutions to calm traffic in our District and our neighborhoods. These include measures such as improved traffic light timing on major arterial roads such as Aborn, Quimby, Tully and White roads, and (when necessary) local solutions to calm traffic in residential neighborhoods, such as added stop signs or speed humps.

Answer from Pat Waite:

I will focus my decision making on what is best for the quality of life for our citizens. I will encourage significant input from my constituents in order to make the best decisions for the district, and for San Jose.

Answer from Minh Duong:

The needs of the City as a whole always come before the needs or interests of any one group.

Answer from Rose Herrera:

The most important part of dealing with group and City interests is the ability to make sure everyone's voice is properly heard. By encouraging growth of commissions and neighborhood groups we can ensure that ideas will be vetted by the community and be presented to city staff in a clear and efficient manner. If we can ensure that all stakeholders are properly notified and have adequate time to respond we can bring all sides together and find common ground for sensible solutions

Answer from Craig Mann:

My votes, positions will always be in the best interests of Evergreen residents and San Jose at-large. Individuals and interests groups are entitled to their First Amendment rights to petition their government and I will listen to the views of each giving each equal footing and equal consideration. I have been known to be an independent thinker, making thoughtful decisions for the people I serve.

Please go to http://www.sanjoseca.gov/clerk/ and click on "Campaign Reports" to see who (what groups) are financially supporting my campaign. You'll notice I'm being supported by everyday people like you and I. By doing so, I don't owe developers and corporate interests anything in return.

The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.