What I Have to Offer the Residents of Atherton.

By James R. Janz

I have the Experience, Knowledge, Ability and Goals.

For the past twenty-one years, I have practiced real estate and land use law, both in private practice and as corporate counsel. Early in my career I worked as an engineer for the City of Los Angeles. I then served as a VISTA volunteer with a community council in Cincinnati. The mid-70's found me in New York, where, during the New York City fiscal crisis, I was a policy analyst for the Mayor's Commission on City Finances, after having held similar positions with the New York City Office of Management and Budget, and with the Citizens Budget Commission, a private group which served as a watchdog on New York City finances.

My wife, Kathryn, and I have lived in the Lloyden Park section of Atherton for fourteen years. We have two children, ages eleven and fourteen. I served on the Planning Commission from 1989 to 1999, and was Chairperson of the Planning Commission and the General Plan Committee during the last three years of my term. During my tenure, I contributed to the enactment of many important Town ordinances that have contributed to maintaining Atherton's cherished qualities.

I am committed to bring reasonable and responsible leadership to our City Council. With the loss of the special parcel tax, a new financial agenda for the future must be set. There is clear need for tough fiscal management, and for new financial approaches. Our goal should be to develop a consensus on the services which the Town should provide, and then to arrange for the most effective and efficient delivery of those services, along with the appropriate sources of revenue. With my background in city finance, I will work to create and ensure fiscal responsibility and reliable sources of revenues, and to preserve and improve the quality of municipal services, from daily operations to meeting long-term street and drainage infrastructure needs. Most important, I will restore trust and credibility in our City Council.

Let us work together to restore qualified, reasonable, and responsible leadership to Atherton.

- James R. Janz