League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA November 4, 2008 Election
	Peggy Dallas Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; Town of Los Gatos

The questions were prepared by the Leagues of Women Voters of Santa Clara County and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What experience related to city government would you bring to the City Council?

During the past ten years I have worked in appointed positions to create the Town's Land Use Policies with independence,integrity and vision.

I first became involved with the town when I volunteered to completely rewrite the General Plan with about 26 fellow residents carefully chosen to represent the different neighborhoods, ages, and occupations of people in town. I spent two years listening to the hopes and dreams of the group which were then documented by staff to become the Year 2000 General Plan. Through this process I not only became very familiar with the General Plan, but I also understand the hopes and dreams that it is intended to represent.

In subsequent years, I've served on the Architectural and Hillsides Standards Committee where we spent four years writing the current Hillside Development Standards and Guidelines document. During the writing of the Hillside Standards, I fought for protection of our beautifully wooded hillsides by allowing only appropriately scaled development and guidleines for protecting our hillsides from a devastating wildfire.

I worked pro bono with staff, teachers, parents and students at Lakeside Elementary School to prepare a Master Plan -- a process that helped the school community decide on the location of a new multi-purpose room and several new classrooms on campus.

As an architect living in Los Gatos for the past 18 years I have experience processing projects through the Community Development Department.

I am qualified, as I am the candidate with formal academic training in land use planning. As Los Gatos faces growth pressures, I am the candidate who understands how to preserve our neighborhoods and natural environment while permitting sustainable development.

2. What concerns are of particular importance to the city and how would you address them?

Without a doubt the biggest concern for the Town of Los Gatos is the continuing loss of revenue over the past several years. This combined with the increasing costs of running the Town has the staff projecting that the Town budget will go negative in the year 2010. With the recent loss of yet another auto dealership and our dependence on the 10% of our town revenue that comes from Netflix alone, it is imperative to maintaining the quality of life in Los Gatos that new and diverse sources of revenue be found.

Fear of change has prompted many land use decisions aimed at stopping growth. When growth is stopped -- death starts. You only have to look at the loss of auto dealerships on Los Gatos Boulevard to see this. We must accept change as part of living.

By looking forward at change fearlessly, with an open and optimistic mind and still embracing our town's values, an intelligent solution becomes possible. I have the experience and training and confidence to do just that.

The Town needs to be more friendly to new business opportunities and work with them in a positive and respectful way to help them find a fit with our town values.

Making sure that Los Gatos stays fiscally sound is Job #1. All other issues follow from there.

3. How would you balance the needs of the City as a whole with groups' interests?

The Town has a General Plan that expresses the values of the Town as a whole. Special interest groups add value to a public discussion and should be considered in balance with the entire town's values. Special interests efforts to bully the Town Council by sheer volume or intimidation will be regarded by me as just that when I am on the Town Council.

I will work with everyone to achieve better results for our whole town, not just the few. I believe strongly in mutual respect, understanding and civility. I will bring these qualities to the Town Council.

As mother and architect, I do not play favorites. I listen to all sides and makes decisions based on sound public policy and not politics.

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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).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 6, 2008 12:39
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