League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Santa Clara County, CA November 6, 2012 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Council Member; City of Los Altos

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, Balancing Interests 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 Megan Satterlee: I have over 11 years experience working in local government. For more information, see the previous section on biographical details. Answer from Jeannie Bruins: I bring Experience, Leadership and Integrity. I have a wealth of experiences to draw from. Sixteen years at HP managing worldwide responsibilities in the Customer Support Organization. Managed process engineering, sw development, education development & delivery, and multi million dollar budgets. Sixteen years of leadership roles in many local non-profits, serving as Treasurer, Vice Pres., President of organizations such as Community Services Agency, Friends of Stevens Creek Trail, MVLA High School Foundation, LAEF and more. Two years on the Planning Commission plus 3 years as co-chair of a City Council appointed task force. I will bring fresh ideas, a willingness to listen, and an ability to make decisions is a fair and open way. Answer from Jan Pepper: I moved to Los Altos in 1985. I have two terrific kids, Danny and Jennifer, who received excellent educations in our public schools - Springer, Blach, and Mountain View High. I volunteered in their schools and with my son's Boy Scout troop. I have two degrees from Stanford: a bachelors in civil engineering and an MBA from the business school. I'm a registered professional engineer in the state of California. I bring my 30-plus years of business experience to our city, and here are some of the things I've accomplished. I've been fortunate to pursue my passion in my professional career, and that is to create a sustainable energy future. I started at PG&E and negotiated contracts to purchase power from the wind developers in the Altamont Pass. When my kids arrived, I started my own home-based energy consulting firm here in Los Altos. I was one of the founders of APX in 1996, a company started here in Los Altos Hills, where I pioneered an innovative product for trading renewable energy, called renewable energy credits, which is now the standard throughout the world. In 2000 I started another company, Clean Power Markets, and created a new market-based program for valuing solar energy. In 2007, I started a solar financing company and received commitments from banks to install $60 million of home solar systems. A couple years ago, I joined Silicon Valley Power, the municipal utility for Santa Clara, and manage the 200-million dollar bond portfolio for the utility. I also taught a course at Stanford on our energy future. Throughout my career, I've been active in setting energy policy in California, and know how to collaborate and bring diverse viewpoints together to reach innovative solutions. I plan to apply those skills here in Los Altos. I've been a leader in my work life, and also in my volunteer activities. I was an early volunteer with Green Town and helped get the Mayor's climate initiative passed here in Los Altos. I volunteer with Los Altos Forward. And I'm very proud of being a leader in the League of Women Voters, where I just stepped down as president. I promote transparency, integrity and listening to all viewpoints. I will emphasize these qualities as a council member and represent everyone in our town. Answer from Jon Baer: I have worked effectively with the Los Altos community for over a decade, including my service on the Planning Commission for over 5 years, twice as its chair; serving 4 years on the Neighborhood Traffic Advisory Task Force; and my involvement in creating the civic center master plan, revising downtown zoning and creating new downtown design guidelines. Answer from Anabel Pelham: Most recently, I have served on the Senior Commission. During my tenure on the Commission, I led a successful major initiative to make Los Altos the first Age-Friendly City in California. This effort required obtaining a community research grant, hiring four graduate students to gather the required data, negotiating the complex application with various city offices and submitting a final application to the World Health Organization in Geneva. I have 25 years of direct experience in administration and management as a department head at San Francisco State University. I have skills in budgeting, personnel and staffing, strategic planning and program assessment. I have served for several years as the chair of corporate strategic planning for a mid-size, not-for-profit California corporation and in that role worked with the board and consultants to guide the mission of eight housing communities and six community-based agencies. I have extensive experience in grant writing and management. I have served as the Project Director or Principal Investigator on at least 20 grants and contracts with budgets ranging from a few thousand dollars to $420,000. As a Social Scientist, I have studied extensively and contributed to the literature on the characteristics of economically vital and socially vibrant cities. In 2010, I published a book: Promoting Health and Wellness in Underserved Communities, A. Pelham and E. Sills, Stylus. There is a growing and significant literature on how to create better cities in terms of health and wellness, transportation, housing, outdoor spaces, civic engagement, sustainability and intergenerational participation. I have studied and contributed to this research for the past 12 years and I wish to bring this know-how to Los Altos. Finally, I have developed curriculum and taught graduate courses on leadership. I have in-depth knowledge of the call to leadership as values-driven SERVICE and the essential element of trust in that equation. In order to absolutely assure trust, one must assure transparency. I am committed to unqualified transparency in city governance. 2. What concerns are of particular importance to the city and how would you address them? Answer from Megan Satterlee: Continued prudent management of the City's budget is paramount. We need to continue pension reform and carefully manage our staffing. We also need to look at 10 year revenue projections to ensure we know where we are headed. Congestion around schools remains a concern. This can be alleviated by making additional improvements that allow more parents to feel confident about allowing their child to walk or ride a bike to school. Projects have been identified around both Blach and Eagan. They need to be prioritized and then completed in a timely fashion. We need to maintain momentum downtown by completing the parking management study and making decisions about what needs to be done to ensure parking supports the types of businesses we want to see downtown. Answer from Jeannie Bruins: Effective, Meaningful Community Engagement - We need to improve our outreach to the community at large. I want to begin by leveraging the informal neighborhood groups that exist and encouraging the development of others. This would allow the City to reach out and invite input on projects, encourage neighborhoods to share ideas and solutions, strengthen our ability to respond in case of an emergency, etc. There is a plan to overhaul our website, but we need a process that involves a cross-section of our community to define the user needs and wants. Imagine a website where you put in your address and push pins come up showing you were projects are located. You then click on a pin and project info pops ups. The opportunities are plentiful. Vibrant Business Districts - Economic vitality is important in all our districts and, for some, social vibrancy is equally important. Our downtown serves as the heart of our community. We need a vision and master plan that includes our downtown, community center, and civic center. I support a community-wide planning process that allows us to define and protect our village character, enable economic vitality and social vibrancy -- a process that enables us to envision the possibilities and develop a roadmap to achieve the outcome we want. Safe, Convenient Streets - We need transportation solutions that serve multiple generations and all modes of transportation. I am committed to a neighborhood-focused approach that involves stakeholders early, from problem definition through to solution identification. Fiscal Accountability - Prudent financial management is required to balance needs and desires as well as immediate and long-term priorities, all while ensuring a balanced budget. Quality of public service for residents, maintenance of community assets and infrastructure, investments in our future, protection from economic downturns, must all be considered. Answer from Anabel Pelham: I believe that Los Altos has arrived at a crossroads. It is important to become more economically vital in all of our 7 commercial areas. The call for more social vibrancy by many of our citizens is an opportunity to become a charming destination city for all generations. We can think of our challenges in three major categories: Economic Vitality; Social Vibrancy and Stewardship as a City Council. Regarding Economic Vitality, I think we need to address the following issues: An authentic master plan that integrates the downtown core with the civic center; safe crossings for Foothill Blvd and San Antonio Road; public/private partnerships that make Hillview community center a priority; a parking management plan that includes underground and in lieu parking public benefit as options in the mix; zoning policies that are based on analytics and predictable; car park solutions for cyclists at Foothill Crossings; citizen-led revitalization of Loyola Corners; and a long-term plan to address the fiscal impact of city pensions. Regarding Social Vibrancy, I think we need a downtown core plan that prioritizes pedestrians, cycling, public transport and automobiles in that order; more and attractive bike racks; a variety of "parklets"; a public/private partnership for a mini fixed-route shuttle bus; a creative engagement strategy to link Foothill college faculty, staff and students to downtown; and a public/private partnership to Wifi downtown. Many citizens have expressed the wish for a warm water pool to be located in a hoped-for community center in the future. Regarding stewardship, I think that leadership on the City Council must come from a place of inclusion, transparency and respect. We need to promote a sense of trust in city government and the surest way to that is absolute transparency. I suggest "Study Sessions" be held in the neighborhoods effected, and two term limits (8 years) on all council members. I would publish the City Council agenda in the Town Crier in advance and make sure that all City Council business is conducted in public places and announced in advance in print and multi social media. Answer from Jon Baer: Downtown vibrancy-I will work with the various community organizations to identify ways to increase our downtown population days, nights, and weekends. I will continue to support new office construction outside the core of our downtown to increase foot traffic and restaurant business. As a City we need to be proactive about encouraging developers who share our values and well as enticing businesses that will be desirable to residents such as a great variety of restaurants and retail shops. Answer from Jan Pepper: Civic Center The Civic Center proposal costs over $152 million. After talking to many Los Altans as I've walked the town, we do not have the appetite to fund this project in these tough economic times. I support using existing funds to maintain/upgrade the Hillview Community Center while developing a combined downtown / civic center plan with phasing and funding strategies that have stronger community consensus. Vibrant Commercial Areas We must create commercial areas that reflect community values and provide economic vitality for businesses, easy walking and biking, safe traffic, parking, sustainable development, public spaces, and beauty. Our downtown is revitalizing. New stores are opening and properties are improving. Residents want greater vibrancy, including more restaurants and unique stores for browsing and shopping. I support a community-wide planning process, which considers the downtown triangle and the Civic Center together, to develop a vision and strategy to maintain a unique "village" feel and support downtown economic vitality. We need community input to validate the existing Downtown Urban Design Plan (from 1992), the General Plan (from 2002), the Bicycle Transportation Plan (from 2012), and the Parking Management Study, which is currently underway. After we have either validated these plans, or modified them to reflect the town's current outlook, we need to set consistent guidelines so that the city and developers can implement this vision to reflect our community values. Loyola Corners is a unique opportunity to better use vacant properties and solve traffic problems. We need to gather input from nearby residents to reach consensus on how to meet the needs of this part of town. Fiscal Responsibility The money our city spends is our responsibility and must be allocated efficiently and wisely. The First Street project had a cost overrun of almost 50%, with 38 change orders. I have experience developing contracts and evaluating financial statements. I will ask hard questions to ensure engineering plans are complete and contracts are written to protect the city. Neighborhoods/Traffic Each neighborhood is special and we must preserve their uniqueness. Each has concerns about traffic whether they involve traffic calming or school safety. As neighborhood changes arise, I will encourage active resident participation and input so views are heard and good decisions can be made. Los Altos School District / Bullis Charter School Although the school site issue is the jurisdiction of the Los Altos School District, this is an concern for everyone who values our excellent schools. Another school campus may be needed in Los Altos (or Mountain View) from growing enrollment in District schools, including Bullis Charter School, which draw from neighboring cities. This must become a shared concern with the other cities in the District: Mountain View, Palo Alto and Los Altos Hills. Our neighboring communities must join us in solving this problem. It may be appropriate to form an ad hoc working group of city and school representatives across these jurisdictions. 3. How would you balance the needs of the city as a whole with groups’ interests? Answer from Jeannie Bruins: As a member of City Council I will strive to make decisions that are in the best interest of the city as a whole. I am committed to keeping an open mind, evaluating every idea on its merits, and examining the cost-benefit analysis. Answer from Jon Baer: By asking good questions, listening carefully and remembering that the best solution is often one that neither side gets everything they want. I have seen firsthand the difficult tradeoffs that are made between keeping things the way they are and helping the city evolve as new residents and businesses come to town and our needs change. I have worked effectively with City staff and the City Council as well as the community to help effect changes while respecting the values and sensibilities that make Los Altos special. Answer from Jan Pepper: I am running as an independent candidate for Los Altos City Council. Therefore I am not seeking or accepting endorsements or contributions from anyone on the current City Council. I am also not accepting endorsements or contributions from companies (such as property developers) that may be coming before the City Council in the future. As a member of the City Council I will continue to maintain my independence from interest groups and strive to make decisions that are in the best interest of the entire community. As past president of the Los Altos-Mountain View League of Women Voters, I believe in transparency, community outreach and consensus building in major decisions. Answer from Anabel Pelham: This is one of the most challenging questions in public life. How does one balance the passionate wishes of one neighborhood verses another? How does one make an unpopular decision in support of the city as a whole? I work to stand on facts/data/evidence and best practices. That is, get the best information possible first, then do a reality check with various groups' interests and earnestly seek compromise. This means patience, respect and inclusion. In most cases, this approach will be successful. Most citizens really want what is best for the community, so I would appeal to their sense of civic responsibility, and if necessary include external experts to help inform the facts of the issue. I have also found that including wise elders from the community can offer perspective, calm and appeals to higher values and purposes. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Please answer each question in no more than 400 words. Direct references to opponents are not permitted. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.