League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA March 6, 2007 Election
	Jim Foran Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member, 4; City of San Jose; Council District 4

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of San Jose/Santa Clara in partnership with the San Jose Mercury News and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. There are proposals to add 30,000 houses and more office space in North San Jose, thousands more homes in Evergreen and to build a new community in the Coyote Valley. There has been no in-depth study of how these plans will affect one another or services throughout the city. Should San Jose complete a thorough, public review of its general plan for growth before approving any more major development plans? Silicon Valley needs more housing, but San Jose needs more jobs to strengthen its tax base. How would you balance those conflicting pressures?

Yes, San Jose should complete a thorough, public review of its general plan before approving any of these developments. Other cities need to do their part to provided housing for their workers. San Jose needs more jobs for its residents. We should provide more incentives for job creating businesses and fewer for housing. We must also address the long term structural deficit caused by excessive use of Redevelopment Areas.

2. San Jose has a council/manager form of government. Over the past few years the balance of power has shifted toward the mayor and there are some elected officials who support this stronger role for the mayor. Should San Jose move to a strong-mayor form of government or have a strong professional administrator? What kind of city manager will you look for?

We should have a strong City Manager who is a professional of the highest stature with a reputation for being responsive to the needs of the city's residents.

3. Safety often includes services such as homework centers and code enforcement for neighborhoods, but the city budget now being prepared could cut much needed services. If there is no other source of funds to maintain safety-related centers and gang prevention, would you consider reducing the funds going to support the police and fire departments? Can the growing costs of police and for pensions be covered without depleting funds for other community service in the future?

We have a $40 million structural deficit caused by the manner in which we have used Redevelopment Areas. This is particularly true with Redeveloment Areas which were previously undevelopped, vacant land with no substantial tax base. Until we remedy that situation, through legislative action if necessary, we will not be able to fully fund any of our basic services. It is not a matter of pitting one necessary sevice against another. Too much property tax revenue is locked up funding redevelopment.

4. Money to maintain and operate the city’s public facilities such as parks and libraries is in shorter and shorter supply. So while new or expanded community centers have been proposed previously, the city is looking at closing or privatizing up to 30 existing centers it cannot afford to operate. Should the city re-examine its plans to add parks and other public facilities? Are there services the city could cut to find money for these highly valued ones?

Our City needs more public facilities, not less. We do need to be efficient in service deliery and take advantage of private industry and nonprofit oeganizational services where appropriate. In exchange for restoring funding departments should be tasked to achieve measurable efficiency gains as part of a continuous improvement program.

---

Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' responses are not edited or corrected by the League.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Candidate Page || Feedback to Candidate || This Contest
SmartVoter Home (Ballot Lookup) || About Smart Voter

---

Created from information supplied by the candidate: January 18, 2007 20:51
Smart Voter <http://www.smartvoter.org/>
Copyright © League of Women Voters of California Education Fund   http://www.lwvc.org
The League of Women Voters neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office or political parties.