League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Santa Clara County, CA November 4, 2008 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Council Member; City of Santa Clara; Seat 6

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 Experience, Important Concerns, Balance Needs Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. What experience related to city government would you bring to the City Council? Answer from Brian P. Lowery: I have been the Chairperson for the Santa Clara Citizen's Advisory Committee for the past two years. During these two years I have been working with other committee members on the City Budget, Public Safety, the Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce with represents the business side for the City of Santa Clara and Citizen input amongst other things. I have created a website for our Committee (http://www.cacofsc.org) which lets citizens know what we are about. I have also worked on the Block Grant program whereby funds are allocated to various organizations working within the City to help those in need; one program for example is OutReach. I also joined the Santa Clara Sister Cities program and am now serving as the Vice President of one of its two sister cities. I have hosted exchange students as well as delegation members from Japan in my home and have worked hard to develop a meaningful exchange program for our City. This past summer I was fortunate to visit Izumo with the exchange students that we had selected from our local high schools in Santa Clara. It is my goal to continually work with students, to involve them in service to their community and to be a good 'role model' for them. Answer from Jamie L. Matthews: Councilmember + City of Santa Clara 1998 + 2006 (8 years) + Established policy and goals, managed and approved City budget including electric utility ($1 billion) as an elected member of the City Council. Redevelopment Agency Director + City of Santa Clara + 1998 + 2006 (8 years) - Provided Policy oversight, direction, set goals and approved budget relating to redevelopment projects and areas within the City of Santa Clara. Open Space Authority Director + City of Santa Clara - 1998 + 2006 (8 years) - Provided Policy oversight, direction, set goals and approved budget relating to Open Space Authority within the City of Santa Clara Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority - Chair, Board of Directors. 2000 + 2006 (6 years). Established policy, budget approval, Hiring of CEO for JPA resulting in new Full Service Animal Shelter for the Cities of Santa Clara, Monte Sereno and Campbell Valley Transportation Authority, Director, 2005 + 2006 (2 years). Board of Director representing City Group two (Mountain View, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara) on multi-agency JPA. Established policy and goals, authorized transit projects, approved budget and firing and hiring of VTA General Manager. TPAC - Santa Clara / San Jose Water Pollution Control Plant, Director 2005-2006 (2 years). Member of Board of Director for JPA charged with oversight, policy and budget of the Water Pollution Control Plant and facilities Cal-Train Policy Advisory Board, Member + 2005-2006 (2 years) - Ensured that Santa Clara was involved in guiding the planning, design and construction of projects in the Caltrain corridor. VTA Ride Taskforce + Co-Chair with San Jose Councilmember Nora Campos, 2005-2006 (2 yrs)- Taskforce assigned by VTA Board to develop a plan to increase readership, improve service and balance service and fare box returns. Audit Committee, Chair 1999 + 2006 (6 years) + City of Santa Clara - Reviewed the annual independent audit, Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and City Auditor's Annual Report. Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency, Member 2003 + 2006 (3 years) + City of Santa Clara - Committee Established February 2003 to allow the City of Santa Clara to have a greater voice in planning and funding of improvements in the Hetch-Hetchy regional water supply system. Santa Clara Unified / City Liaison Committee, Chair 1998 + 2006 (8 years) Coordination of joint projects/programs between City officials and SCUSD officials. The School Board representatives and School Superintendent are members of the Committee. Mission College Liaison Committee, Member 2000 + 2006 (6 years) City / College Committee to review joint programs with Mission College. The Mission College President and two board members participate on the Committee. Santa Clara University Liaison Committee, Member 1999 + 2005 (6 years) Committee established in 1990 to Review student housing issues (formerly Student Housing Committee). Established a forum for on-going communication and problem solving among City officials, neighborhoods, property owners and Santa Clara University officials and students. Council Goal Setting Committee, Chair 1998 + 2006 (8 years) + City of Santa Clara - Established to develop a Goal Setting Program to identify overarching goals and action goals for a two-year period. Housing Rehabilitation Loan Committee, Chair - 1999 + 2006 (7 years) + City of Santa Clara + review and approve requests for services from eligible residents using funds from the Neighborhood Conservation and Improvement Program (Federal HOME and CDBG Funds). Salary Setting Committee, Chair 1998 + 2006 (8 years) Committee meets when needed to review and the salaries/performance of the appointed positions of City Manager, City Attorney, and City Auditor and the elected full-time positions of City Clerk and Chief of Police. Ethics Committee, Chair 2004 + 2005 (2 years) + City of Santa Clara + To develop ethics programs for Council, Commission and Staff. City's program for Vote Ethics received the Helen Putnam Award for Excellence. Neighborhood Enhancement Committee, Chair / Founder + 1999 + 2006 (7 years) - City of Santa Clara -Established in 1999 to identify and evaluate both residential and non-residential neighborhoods and implement measures for enhancement of these areas. Neighborhood Connections theme implemented. Fairway Glen and Scott Lane School neighborhoods participated in programs, as well as Haman Elementary School and the Habitat for Humanity Homes Campaign Finance Reform Committee, Member / Chair 1998 + 2005 (6 years) + City of Santa Clara + Founding Member. Committee developed campaign finance Ordinance with expenditure and solicitation limits for Mayor and Council elections and reform initiatives to reduce influence of Lobbyist and Special Interest groups. Downtown Revitalization Committee, Chair / Member 1998 + 2005 (6 years) + City of Santa Clara - Committee goals to redevelop and revitalize Santa Clara's downtown. Phase one revitalization implemented and RFP and conceptual plan adopted for phase two. All American City Committee, Member 1999 + 2000 (2 years) + City of Santa Clara + Committee goal and efforts to compete for the All American City Award resulted in the City being designated an All American City in 2001. Americans with Disabilities Act Committee + Chair 1998 + 2000 (2 years) + City of Santa Clara- To review accessibility issues and recommend priorities to Council adoption for capitol improvements to City infrastructure. The Committee includes individuals and representatives from various community organizations. Planning Commission, Chair/ Member 1993 + 1998 (5 years) + City of Santa Clara - The Planning Commission acts in an advisory capacity to the City Council in all matters pertaining to the physical development of the City. The Commission makes recommendations with respect to land subdivisions, zoning as prescribed by ordinance, and more. The Planning Commission consists of seven commissioners appointed by the City Council. Architectural Review Committee, Planning Commission representative 1996 + 1998 (2 years) + City of Santa Clara - The Committee, which includes two appointed members of the Planning Commission, reviews new development projects to encourage orderly and harmonious appearance of structures and property, maintains property and improvement values, and encourages the physical development as intended by the General Plan. San Tomas Aquino / Saratoga Creekside Committee 1996-98 (2 yrs) Founding Member. Identified trail sections and developed Multi-jurisdictional Master Environmental Impact Report. My professional experience includes: 24 years municipal experience working for the City of San Jose, the past eleven years as Code Enforcement Administrator / Division Manager in the Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement + Code Enforcement Division. 2. What concerns are of particular importance to the city and how would you address them? Answer from Brian P. Lowery: I think the most important concern for the city of Santa Clara right now is to continue to maintain its core services in the face of the dramatic events that are going on in the economy. Santa Clara is a well run City with excellent staff and has done a very good job in maintaining a balanced budget. In my role as a Council member, I shall use a 'solution oriented' strategy, in order to make sure that certain things are accomplished; among these are, the building and staffing of a North Side Library, infrastructure improvements to both the International Swim Center and the South of Forest Neighborhoods. I shall use a 'business minded' strategy to ensure that businesses can thrive in our City by being actively involved in what they do for us and how I can facilitate their way of doing business. And finally, the taxpayer's interests cannot be ignored in all of this. I will endeavor to make sure that the Taxpayer's monies are being spent judiciously and with the intent that they were intended. It is important to realize that government cannot do everything for each of us. We cannot spend more than we are taking in. I will watch the spending of the monies in Santa Clara to ensure that tax dollars are being utilized in the best interests of the people of Santa Clara. 3. How would you balance the needs of the City as a whole with groups' interests? (No candidates submitted answers to this question) 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.