Candidate for
Council Member; City of Sunnyvale; Seat 1

Prior to my election four years ago, I served two terms as president of the Lakewood Village Neighborhood Association. I also served as a volunteer with the Sunnyvale Public Safety department, and as the "Emergency Response Coordinator" for the Amateur Radio Emergency Service. My duties with ARES involved coordinating activities in five Bay Area counties involving more than 2,000 volunteers.

During the two years prior to my election, I served as a Council appointed representative to the joint Sunnyvale-Mountain View Citizens Advisory Committee on Moffett Federal Airfield. I also served as a commissioner on the Sunnyvale Housing and Human Services Commission. I also took part in the public input process for the update of the land use and transportation sub element of the City's general plan. Shortly before the 1997 election, I received a Certificate of Commendation from State Assembly member Elaine Alquist, and also a Certificate of Congressional Commendation from Congressman Tom Campbell. Both certificate were awarded for my contributions to the community as a volunteer.

Since the election, I have served on several regional agency boards in addition to my service on the Sunnyvale City Council. I am the chairman of the San Jose State University Collaborative for Disaster Mitigation., a public-private partnership to improve protection of life and property during disaster. I am also the chairman of the Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority, a Joint Powers Authority formed by seven south bay cities to construct a new, state of the art animal shelter. I also serve on the League of California Cities Revenue and Taxation Policy committee, the North Central Flood Control Zone Advisory Committee of the Santa Clara Valley Water District, and the ABAG hazardous waste facility sighting committee.

I've been involved with my community for many years, first as a volunteer, then as a neighborhood association president, then as an appointed official, then as an elected official. I've worked hard, learned how to get things done, and have gained the experience needed to do an effective job as a City Council member.

I've been working hard to keep in touch with the citizens for the past four years. I've had tables at every Art and Wine festival, every 4th of July celebration, and most civic events since I've been elected. I'm also campaigning door to door in an effort to become better know but also to learn first-hand what is on the minds of the citizens of Sunnyvale.

What I've found is that for the most part, our residents feel that Sunnyvale is a safe and comfortable place to live, and they want it to stay that way. Some of us who are not dot.com software engineers are feeling serious economic pressure and are having a hard time paying rent, buying food, and making ends meet. Some of our "dependent" populations, such as kids, teenagers, and retirees are being left out of the economic boom and risk becoming "invisible" to a society that is increasingly dominated by the image of a thirty-something computer programmer who makes a fortune overnight.

During the four years I've held office, I've acted on the information I've acquired. I've helped get automatic heart attack defibrillating machines installed in all of our police patrol cars, our fire engines, and many public buildings. I fought hard for the construction of the Fremont High School Swimming Pool and the new Sunnyvale Senior Center. I supported the experimental teen coffee house (the "Fishbowl") that gave teens a safe place to go on weekend evenings. I've also worked to revitalize and strengthen our city code enforcement program.

The current issue that seems to be on the minds of most is the perceived increase in speed of traffic on residential streets. Many people have told me they are uneasy about the way that cars seem to race down streets with children playing nearby.