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Santa Clara County, CA November 5, 2013 Election
Smart Voter Full Biography for James R. "Jim" Griffith

Candidate for
Council Member; City of Sunnyvale; Seat 3

[photo]
This information is provided by the candidate

I am a native Bay Area resident, growing up in Pleasanton, graduating from U.C. Berkeley with a degree in Mathematics Applied to Computer Science, and moving to Sunnyvale directly after graduation to work as an engineer in Silicon Valley. I've been a Sunnyvale resident for 23 years.

Before Council

Prior to my election to the Sunnyvale City Council, I spent ten years founding and presiding over a new homeowners association, followed by four years on the board of a second homeowners association. I served on the Sunnyvale Board of Library Trustees for over five years, which also had me represent Sunnyvale on the Silicon Valley Library System and Pacific Library Partnership. I served on the board of Silicon Valley Leadership (the parent of Leadership Sunnyvale) for one year. I am a graduate of Leadership Sunnyvale and Sunnyvale Neighbors Actively Prepare (SNAP). As a resident, I served on the 2008 Sunnyvale City Manager Selection Panel and the 2009 Sunnyvale Library Director Selection Panel.

On Council

As your Vice Mayor, I currently hold the following intergovernmental relations assignments:

  • I chair the Santa Clara County Recycling and Waste Reduction Commission, championing sustainable practices such as zero waste, elimination of single-use practices, and extended producer responsibility programs.
  • I am the Secretary/Treasurer of the Cities Association of Santa Clara County, where all fifteen of the County's cities champion regional efforts such as supporting regional workforce boards (NOVA), environmental sustainable policies, affordable housing, and collaborative purchase agreements. I additionally serve on the Legislative Action Committee.
  • I am Vice Chair of the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) Recycled Water Joint Committee
  • I represent Sunnyvale on the Caltrain Modernization Project Policy Advisory Group.
  • I represent Sunnyvale on the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) Board of Directors
  • I represent Sunnyvale on the San Francisco Bay Area Regional Water System Financing Authority (RFA) Board of Directors
  • Past assignments include the Grand Boulevard Task Force, the Valley Transportation Agency (VTA) Policy Advisory Committee, the National League of Cities (NLC) San Francisco Bay Area Regional Water System Financing Authority (RFA) Board of Directors, and the NLC Information Technology and Communication Policy Advisory Committee

Council Expertise

My areas of policy focus are library services, environmental sustainability, budget policy, solid waste, and local regional cooperation. I've specifically focused on council transparency and resident outreach, with my council blog at http://www.dweeb.org, multiple town hall meetings, my annual resident survey on proposed study issues, extensive membership in online neighborhood association mailing lists, and attendance of neighborhood association meetings.

Professional Life

I have a 23-year career as an engineer specializing in GIS technology, with an emphasis on vendor formats and models, and skills in C, C++, perl, python, HTML/CSS, and other scripting and compiled languages under Windows, MacOS, and UNIX/LINUX. I am currently a senior iOS Software Engineer with Apple.

Personal Life

I am a resident of the Morse Park Neighborhood Association, and a lifetime member of the Sunnyvale Historical Society and the Friends of the Western Philatelic Library. I support Sunnyvale Community Services and Leadership Sunnyvale. In my spare time I dabble in web design, and I am an avid reader. I am a philatelist specializing in gem US issues, and a member of APS and USSS, with my entire collection online at http://album.dweeb.org.

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 13, 2013 23:42
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