League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Santa Clara County, CA November 3, 2009 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Council Member; City of Palo Alto

The questions were prepared by the the League of Women Voters of Palo Alto and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Budget, Comprehensive Plan, Baylands Master Plan Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. In light of the economic down turn and possibly reduced income for the city in future years, how do you propose to both balance the budget and meet the cities desires for quality services ? Answer from Gail A. Price: A balanced budget will require compromises. Additional savings will be identified with more focused discussions and establishing an on-going joint benefits committee that explores more creative and feasible solutions from both sides. It is unlikely that community members will support additional user fees at this time and we continue to operate within the constraints of Proposition 13. The proposed business license tax will be a needed source of revenue. I would like to see a hotel proposal explored. Answer from Victor allen Frost: At this time. because of legal entanglements my hands are tied up....In time I will resovle most legal and politcal problems to a competent level...vf Answer from Nancy Shepherd: I support the current strategy of Council to solve the deficit burden by 1) reducing city inefficiencies and potentially reducing or eliminating some services, 2) working with city staff and labor to find cost savings and potentially restructuring labor contracts and benefits package so that the city can meet its future responsibilities, and 3) collecting a business license tax. Answer from Gregory "Greg" Scharff: The City must retain its existing businesses and bring new business to Palo Alto to increase our sales tax revenue and create a vibrant and healthy community that provides the services we all want. We should expand the economic development programs at City Hall that support local business and promote vibrant and thriving commercial areas. It should be an easy and pleasant experience to shop and do business in downtown Palo Alto and in our other neighborhood commercial and shopping areas. We need to encourage high sales tax generating business to locate in Palo Alto and create a business- and service-oriented environment to promote Downtown, California Avenue, El Camino Real, Midtown, Charleston Center and our other neighborhood commercial areas. Downtown retail vacancy rates in Palo Alto are twice that of Menlo Park and Mountain View. To accomplish this Palo Alto needs to be perceived as business friendly and supportive of its retail and neighborhood commercial areas. We need strong fiscal management, accountability, and transparency. We will have long-term fiscal problems if unsustainable pension and health care benefits aren't reduced. City pension costs have increased 86% for SEIU and Management employees over the last five years, in large part due to an enhanced pension formula implemented in 2007. The City of Palo Alto by adopting "2.7% @ 55," has provided a benefit that, if not reduced now, will result in unsustainable long-term obligations for the City that will cause a future of sustained fiscal crisis and declining city services. The retirement formula for city employees must be scaled back to 2% at 60 rather than the gold-plated 2.7% at 55 granted to city employees in the last several years. 2.7% at 55 means that a city employee can retire at 55 and receive 2.7% of their highest salary worked times the number of years worked for life. This is simply too generous and a benefit that the City cannot afford. We also must control the spiraling costs of health care benefits. According to its most recent actuarial study, the City's unfunded liability for retiree medical insurance grew by over $27.5 million over the past 2 years alone, from $102.2 million to $129.7 million. With these costs far exceeding inflation and the general public paying an increasing share of its own health care costs, it is only fair that City employees begin picking up some of the costs of their coverage. The City cannot continue to pay 100% of its employee's medical costs. We also need to look closely at the number of employees Palo Alto has in proportion to its neighboring cities and determine if we could be more efficient with our resources. It is simply shocking that Palo Alto could save $235,000 each and every year by simply having more competitive rates for landline telephone service and telecommunication lines. It is likely that there are other areas where substantial savings could be realized by strong fiscal management. If elected, I will be a strong voice for fiscal responsibility and accountability. Answer from Karen C. Holman: Short-term budgets have to match long-term goals. There is opportunity in being more creative and proactive in retaining existing and attracting new retail uses. The retail permit process needs to be overhauled to coordinate approvals, expediting occupancy. Continued encouragement of hotels will add income to the City. The City needs to demonstrate that it has identified and eliminated duplication, waste, and inefficiencies. To get public support, these need to be addressed before raising taxes or cutting services. Ongoing union negotiations must result in an understanding that both the City and the unions benefit from sustainable budgets. Possibilities also may exist with regard to additional public-private partnerships to provide services to the community. Answer from Dan Dykwel: To eliminate our structural deficit, we must re-establish a sustainable balance between what we want our City to provide and how to fund those services. We should be prepared for reductions in staff positions and programs, longer public safety response times, reduced service hours, and pressure on employee benefits. We must work aggressively and creatively to control costs, employing best practices. Concurrently, we must pursue fair, prudent and stable increases in revenue sources by promoting a healthy business climate. We need to keep uppermost in mind what Palo Alto means to its residents. This includes an astute commitment to the environment and preserving parks, programs and similar amenities. Integrating these imperatives into our operating budget requires leadership in assuring a comprehensive approach. Answer from Corey A. Levens: While the economic downturn is one cause of reduced revenues, I believe the primary cause is ill-conceived policies, such as the currently proposed business tax, that have driven businesses out of Palo Alto and made the City an unattractive choice for new businesses to locate in. Rejuvenating and reinvigorating the business environment in Palo Alto is essential. On the cost side, Palo Alto has the highest ratio of workers to population and of supervisors to staff of any city in the area. We must deliver our services more efficiently and productively as we seek to balance our budget. Answer from Timothy W. "Tim" Gray: We must assure that our business community, especially hotels and retail, retaim the "destination of choice" to preserve our revenue stream. However, good business practices dictate that we manage our expenditures. The first step is to inventory the services provided by our city and then define mutual priorities. This is ongoing discussion for every client I advise, and there is a standard and disciplined process to achieve this fiscal responsibility. I have discussed this with City Manager Jim Keene, and he will be an excellent cooperator with the Council, however the Council members must "pull up their sleeves" and establish the mutual priorities. City Manager Keene is a professional, and knows how to set spending limits. When decisions are made, the Council must provide a united stand, because even the most minor decrease will result in a service reduction, and we are well aware of our history of caving in to a "vocal minority." Answer from Larry Klein: We can meet our $10 million dollar structural budget deficit by, in roughly equal parts: a) reducing the number of City emplyees, b)a reduction in employee compensation and c) an increase in revenues through the buisness license tax. Answer from Chris Gaither: (1) Continue the salary/benefit cost containment being implemented by the current city manager for all staff and unions; allow normal attrition and replace positions with experienced volunteers where possible - this will help to keep services operational (2) Work with the Chamber of Commerce to establish a city supported service to assist business owners in negotiating affordable office/commercial rent terms so that they can stay in business and thrive (3) Promote in other city media/journals both on-line and print the benefits of doing business in Palo Alto, to encourage much needed diverse retail and commercial business growth in order to expand our offered business services, and help to increase our tax revenue base Answer from John Morrow Hackmann: Cost containment should first be addressed by fair negotiations between labor and management. Structurally, we clearly need to reform the taxpayer's annual contribution to the pension pot so it is a known and fixed contribution each year. Lifetime payouts of pensions can be up to $2,000,000 to $6,000,000 EACH for long serving employees. The city, and the taxpayers, can simply not be on the hook for forever increasing, unknowable obligations far into the future. Palo Alto is said to be in much better shape on the pension funding than other cities. This is precisely the reason we should fully address and solve this problem now. No essential service need be cut. With focused goals, specific objectives, closer management and accountability, and increased public partnerships with the non-profit organizations we have here in Palo Alto, we can continue to provide all essential services. We have many excellent employees here in Palo Alto. Overall, we need to do a better job controlling spending. In my opinion, we, as other cities do, have a high cost per employee when salary, benefits and pension contribution are all included. And Palo Alto has a larger number of city employees per population than most of our neighbors. One specific area of service where savings are possible is to have a closer partnership between staff and volunteers in library operations, where there are many skilled and willing people ready to help. A second valid alternative to contain costs is with new government sector productivity software, for example, in public record keeping and record retention. This would put Palo Alto on the cutting edge and demonstrate Palo Alto's leadership. Answer from Brian Steen: 1. Evaluate recent revenue losses and analyze which may be reinstated. 2. Aggressively seek new business tenants for vacant business properties. 3. Utilize retirement attrition to reduce work force. 4. Hold wage and benefit package increases to bare minimum Answer from Leon Leong: The Budget needs more transparency so that the City Council can better make policy decisions on services. Once the council can understand the costs and overhead involved, policy decisions can be made on where to devote resources and where efficiencies can be found. A recent example is the cost of the city's phone bill, where the city auditor determined that the city could have been saving hundreds of thousands of dollard each year. 2. An updated Comprehensive Plan is due to be approved in 2010. What changes if any should be made to the Plan and why? Answer from Nancy Shepherd: The Comprehensive Plan should support the character of Palo Alto. The development at the former Hyatt site is dense and the setback is close to the street, resulting in an overflow parking problem for its neighbors and an urban look to the El Camino corridor. Mixed-use complexes can change the character of some neighborhoods and should be limited to areas around shopping centers and transit corridors not, for example, where the Hyatt complex is, far from services. This part of the plan needs to be revisited. The city should also be more specific about what a "public benefit" means when developers ask for a Planned Community zone change. These plans will help guide future development so it is important that zoning generates the type of outcome that Palo Altans expect. Answer from John Morrow Hackmann: Many feel Palo Alto is overrun with too many large developments and too much new traffic. These MUST be better addressed. Specifically, ABAG (Association of Bay Area Governments) requirements for 10,000 or so new units of housing in Palo Alto are unrealistic and will never be met, as there is not land available and no political will to build such a huge amount of new housing. These goals need to be readdressed to more realistic levels. Palo Alto was an early leader in affordable housing, and has great income diversity already present in town. Palo Alto has welcomed a great variety of senior, family, low income, and other housing to our town. High density housing should be closely scrutinized for its impact on neighbors, traffic congestion, and whether it even is the best location for the actual population it serves. Impact on school attendance, school funding, and school boundaries must be closely accounted for. Answer from Gail A. Price: The Comprehensive Plan defines the vision and guiding policies for the City but it is too long and the vision is not clear. I propose: 1) Reducing the number of themes and chapters because it is too ambitious, disperses our efforts and does not identify which are the most critical or important. 2) Streamlining the Land Use and Community Design chapters by reducing the number of policies to the most critical in order to set the stage for an inspired vision 3) Relocate or separate the Governance chapter to the beginning of the document or as a separate document to provide context for City government practices. The very broad reach of the Comprehensive Plan is presented through the 2005-2010 Consolidated Plan. While the detail is useful, I believe it does not clearly note relative priorities, feasibility, and importance to achieve measurable outcomes for City government Answer from Timothy W. "Tim" Gray: We should honor the historical agreements contained within the Comprehensive Plan, however we need to tighten up on a few areas where provisions have been manipulated to allow mega-projects which have not preserved long-established neighborhood retail services, diluted our schools without coordination with the School Disctric, and failed to respect historical uses and qualities. We can look at those projects that are widely believed to be mistakes, and close the loopholes that allowed what many in our community believe was an abuse of the process. Consistency and fairness, vs. "Swiss Cheese Zoning" must be honored. Answer from Dan Dykwel: The Comprehensive Plan guides land use policies that determine our development and incorporates the values we hold as a community. The housing component update to the Comprehensive Plan that is approaching will allow us to engage in a community conversation over how we wish our neighborhoods to continue to evolve and to enhance the character, diversity, and vitality of our city. We must create a sustainable level of development that can be supported without straining our infrastructure, services, schools and open space. Answer from Chris Gaither: Palo Alto has been extremely proactive and successful in building and providing family housing, both affordable and market rate. The current plan calls for 2700 additional units in the next 7 to 10 years. The questions - where do we get the land? And how do we support the additional people for the housing with respect to city and retail services, schools and quality of life issues? The number should be reduced to about 1500, and the goal should be to create housing that fits in with the Palo Alto landscape, and not dense housing that simply hoards people into a community like Arbor Real (Rickey's Hyatt), and buildings that are too big for the allocated space. Additionally, we could use more affordable senior housing. Answer from Karen C. Holman: We need to zone for what we want, and the Comprehensive Plan is the strategic guiding document. Our current Plan is essentially a good one, but we need to better align our decisions with it. Appropriate changes would address the housing density, types of housing, appropriate location, impacts on schools, proximity to services, locations for new retail and possible location of new neighborhood center/s. Answer from Corey A. Levens: Due to legal requirements, the Comprehensive Plan is a complex document. As the primary tool for guiding development in Palo Alto, it embodies hundreds of proposed goals, programs and policies. The problem with the Plan, therefore, is not necessarily its content, but how it is implemented and enforced. The Plan is a document that can be easily manipulated and abused. It should incorporate a means to assure a more consistent and uniform application of its policies. One change I would propose is a better process for reviewing and approving projects, especially smaller projects, in a more streamlined and efficient manner. Answer from Brian Steen: 1. Palo Alto will need to increase transit-oriented residential development will be important in meeting state-mandated regional sustainability plans. 2. The 2010 amendment should assess impacts and costs associated with High Speed Rail and Cal Train improvements. 3. Water efficiency standards should apply to residential as well as commercial projects. Answer from Larry Klein: The updated Comprehensive Plan should: --Reflect throughout the reality and challenge of Climate Change. The document's policies should all take into account how they are going to help mitigate Climate Change and/or help us accomodate ourselves to some of the seemingly inevitable problems. --Minimize the harm to our community from the ABAG requirement that we zone for the possible construction of an additional 2700 housing units over the next seven years. --Consider the impact of our changed economic circumstaceson our ability to provide services, particularly to any significant new residential developments Answer from Victor allen Frost: This is a ongoing problem that has become a cancer in our community, it will take a daily struggle by all to help the People of Palo Alto.l Answer from Gregory "Greg" Scharff: The updated Comprehensive Plan should be guided by several key principles that inform my campaign. If elected I will strongly support a Comprehensive Plan that (1) Protects Our Community, Neighborhoods and Schools; (2) Encourages Strong Fiscal Management and Accountability; (3) Promotes A Vibrant Business Community; and (4) Supports Sustainable Environmental Practices. 1. Protect Our Community, Neighborhoods and Schools: The comprehensive plan should identify new areas for parks and community facilities. The Comprehensive Plan needs to provide a thorough analysis of the service needs of our schools, parks and libraries and other community facilities based on any anticipated growth in the City. The Comprehensive Plan should encourage and enhance neighborhood walkability and strengthen and improve our bike paths. Palo Alto should have the best bike paths in the country. Sadly Palo Alto no longer is a leader in this area. The comprehensive plan should support and insure the Palo Alto regains its position as a leader in encouraging and promoting the use of bicycles through a comprehensive bike path system. I strongly oppose high density housing and its negative impacts on our schools, parks and services in Palo Alto as well as the increased traffic and additional costs associated with high density housing. Palo Alto can only accommodate very limited future growth, our schools and services are nearing capacity. We must resist the Association of Bay Area Governments' (ABAG) attempts to force a change in the character of our city. The comprehensive Plan will be were this battle is fought. As an experienced attorney with a strong understanding of the legal issues involved I am uniquely suited to protect Palo Alto's character. The City needs to use all available means to vigorously oppose any high-speed rail plan that will call for a 20-40 foot wall to be built through our neighborhoods, taking our resident's homes through eminent domain and dividing our city. I support undergrounding the train in Palo Alto through either a tunneling approach or a "cut and cover" approach so that it does not adversely affect our neighborhoods or our quality of life. It is critically important that this issue be handled in a manner that protects the character of our city. Once the high speed rail is built, it will be impossible to fix the impacts on our neighborhoods, our community and our quality of life. If high speed rail is built, it will be beneficial to California, but I will be a strong advocate for our community against this High Speed Rail Proposal. The Comprehensive Plan must be designed to protect the quality of life in Palo Alto in general and in our neighborhoods specifically and support our core community values of schools, open space, parks, bike paths, libraries and excellent community facilities. 2) Encourages Strong Fiscal Management and Accountability Palo Alto faces both a deficit and long-term fiscal problems. We must control city spending, lower costs and get pension and health care obligations on a sustainable footing. We need to streamline operations and eliminate positions where possible without compromising the quality of our city services. We need strong policies in the comprehensive plan that protect and promote our sales tax revenue, our property taxes and our hotel occupancy taxes. This includes making sure that we don't lose retail and neighborhood commercial services to high density housing and office uses. Our residents need the services from our neighborhood shopping centers and other retail areas. Palo Alto needs the tax revenues to provide the city services that we all want and have come to expect. (3) Promotes a Vibrant Business Community Palo Alto needs to foster a culture at City Hall that supports local business and promotes vibrant and thriving commercial areas. It should be an easy and pleasant experience to shop and do business in downtown Palo Alto. Businesses should feel that they are a welcome partner in our community and that they are receiving the support necessary to make our commercial areas fun and inviting places to spend time. We need to retain our existing businesses and bring new business to Palo Alto in order to increase our sales tax revenue and create a vibrant and healthy community that provides the services we all want. We need to encourage high sales tax generating business to locate in Palo Alto and create a business and service oriented environment in order to promote our commercial areas. The comprehensive Plan should encourage supporting and retaining retail and neighborhood commercial uses. It should strongly discourage the conversion of our commercial and retail uses to high density residential. 4) Supports Sustainable Environmental Practices. The Comprehensive Plan must incorporate sustainability goals with relevant policies and programs from the Cities climate protection plan and improve and strengthen the City's environmental policies. Palo Alto is an innovative environmental leader and the comprehensive plan needs to reflect this vision of our community in addressing the complex issues of renewable energy, energy efficiency, water usage, air quality and land use. Answer from Leon Leong: The Comprehensive Plan needs to ensure we have a balance of land devoted to services (e.g. parks), school sites, community serving retail and housing. Over the past 12 years, Palo Alto has added over 2,500 housing units, with neglible additions to parks, elementary schools, and an actual decrease in retail. This had lead to overcrowding at schools, traffic congestion and a taxing of our city services. We need the comprehensive plan to refocus to the balance of retail, office, parks & schools that made Palo Alto a premier choice for establishing a home. 3. The Baylands Master Plan guides land use east of Route 101. Several land use changes are currently being proposed relating to composting, recycling, parkland, airport needs, and hotel development. What land uses do you think desirable and what uses are incompatible in the Baylands? Answer from Victor allen Frost: Redeveloment of our marsh lands, the marsh mouse can leave at any time.... Daylabor homeless will be hired for landscaping, bulding KOE camp grounds $3.00 a night this will clean up our streets of campers, like me... Answer from Nancy Shepherd: The construction of a hotel in the commercial area of Baylands is desirable since it's convenient for travelers and would generate transient tax revenues for the city. Parkland would be preserved and the airport could continue its modernization plans. The Blue Ribbon Composting Taskforce is working with all the stakeholders to identify a compost location without taking open-space, dedicated parklands or airport property. The City's partnership with Sunnyvale's SMaRT recycling center allows residents to have access to a drop-off center after our current location is closed in 2010-2011. Climate change could raise bay water levels so this should be taken into account with land use changes for the fragile Baylands. Answer from Gail A. Price: The Baylands Master Plan is the long-range vision and plan for the appropriate and balanced land uses and functions within its boundaries. I support the conference center and hotel, adjacent to Highway 101; it will provide needed revenue to the City. I support co-locating the composing functions, incorporating new technology, with the Wastewater Treatment Plant although it will delay conversion of properties to enhance parkland. Local composting will likely reduce energy and transportation costs. Answer from Brian Steen: 1. I support reconfiguring the existing composting operation, to close when the landfill operation ends in 2011, co-locating it with the Wastewater Treatment Plant. 2. Budget allocations should be made to reclaim and restore parkland acreage now used for composting. 3.. I believe local composting is favorable to trucking materials to Sunnyvale or other more distant locations, because of additional fuel use and associated air pollution. Answer from Corey A. Levens: The Baylands is one of Palo Alto's most valuable assets. As Palo Alto regains management over this valuable property, we must determine which uses best serve the needs and desires of the community. I believe the primary use of the Baylands should be as parkland and that the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Compost Task Force calling for a composting facility should be implemented. In conjunction with the Wastewater Treatment Plant, these facilities provide essential services to the community that must be maintained and preserved. Construction of a hotel on the Baylands is an inappropriate and incompatible use of this land. Answer from Timothy W. "Tim" Gray: We must respect the historical choices that we have made in the past. Our airport deserves the "grandfather" protections out of an honoring of long and established choice that the resident enjoyed. I know that there are many good ideas on how the business model of the airport can even be stronger. There is a way to balance this historical resource, and keep our composting local as a central priority, and preserve our park lands. When it comes to additional uses of the Baylands, we must primarily respect the sensitive ecology as a first priority. However, man and nature can mix, and there may be a pathway for win-win proposals. More ecological benefits can be gained with a creative approach that can include a Hotel. Answer from John Morrow Hackmann: Baylands are a wonderful resource that I have fought and lobbied for in the past, and will continue to fight and lobby for in the future. A large composting center should not take up land that is actually used by the airport including the secondary emergency helicopter area. It would be good to find a place for composting for parklands, Baylands, or airport use. We all remember in the 1989 Loma Prieta EARTHQUAKE where our modest working airport was able to help transport medical patients and supplies when roads and bridges were blocked. One possible area for composting could possibly be in a reconfigured waste management treatment plant, which is on city land and not parkland I believe, and is due for a reworking in the near future. A three member Ad Hoc committee of City Council members should address this topic. A large composting operation probably should not be at the entrance of our beautiful Baylands park. Answer from Larry Klein: Potential Baylands issues: --Golf course. A reconfiguration of the golf course could lead to space for badly needed playing fields. --Airport. We own it subject to a lease to the County which will expire no later than 2018. We should retain the airport land as an airport. It provides vital emergency preparedness, medical services and economic activity to our community. --Composting. As an environmentally aware city we need to preserve composting within our borders. A presently vacant corner of the airport appears to be the best location subject, however, to a determination that it will not adversely affect the airport's viability. Housing would not be a compatible use in the Baylands. Answer from Gregory "Greg" Scharff: The Baylands are an environmentally sensitive area that are a significant area of native marsh vegetation, endangered species habitat, waterfowl habitat and shorebirds. The salt marsh harvest mouse and California Clapper Rail, both on the Federal endangered species list, call the Baylands home. The Baylands are a significant environmental resource that must be protected, and land use policies regarding the Baylands need to be formed by three general principles: Ensure that the landfill area ultimately becomes an environmental asset and a continuation of the natural green space. Expand bicycle and pedestrian activities while reducing traffic as much as possible. Support current airport and golf course uses. The City of Palo Alto Compost Blue Ribbon Task Force has recommended moving the current composting center to 5.5 acres of vacant land on the south end of Palo Alto's airport. The Composting Plan should be approved if it is done in such a manner that it is in harmony with the airport use. Integrating airport operations and composting could provide organizational and financial advantages. The city could set as a goal the use of biologically generated methane for airport use. With sustainability fuels integrated into airport operations, Palo Alto's airport would be a model of sustainability. Harmonizing the airport use and compost operations if done correctly within the framework of the Baylands master plan would support Palo Alto's vision of itself as an innovative and sustainable community. Answer from Dan Dykwel: The Baylands Master Plan reflects our community's commitment to this valuable resource. Restoring the landfill to parkland is a long-held desire of our community and should be completed. The compost operation is incompatible with the park but we must find a way to do our own composting. We should manage our own recycling and not move it to another community. The airport is valuable but should not expand into open space areas. Bicycle access to the Baylands should be enhanced through improved access across Highway 101. Stewardship of the Baylands should be a high priority. Answer from Karen C. Holman: The Baylands is a recognized treasure. As a Planning Commissioner, I was a leading advocate for prioritizing completion of the recent Plan. Any development needs to be low profile, sensitively address its setting, and be a low traffic generator to be compatible. Both Parks and Recreation and Planning Commission found that the compost operation was inconsistent with the Plan. The airport is an existing low profile use that provides benefits including to Stanford Hospital and local business and could be a vital resource in case of a disaster. A hotel could bring revenue to the City, and the City Auditor determined that the airport should be profitable. Answer from Chris Gaither: The Baylands, golf course, and airport - all located in one of the most relaxing areas of Palo Alto! I enjoy dining at the golf course and watching the planes and fireworks from the baylands. I support the airport as it is an effective emergency resource. I support a hotel as it will be built on land already devoted to a restaurant and we need the revenue. Besides, a hotel next to both an airport and a golf course, how much better can it get for a visitor! Composting and recycling - Stanford has a great recycling program and an expansive lake area, why not collaborate in a joint program? Answer from Leon Leong: The current mix of use of the area east of Route 101 provides many benefits to the residents: parkland, golf, airport, and should be maintained, as the effects and trends of global climate change are monitored and analyzed. The long term effects of global climate change may be the biggest driver of what use will be made of the area east of Route 101. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' responses are not edited or corrected by the League. LWV Palo Alto is using Smart Voter information to publish a paper Voters Guide. Therefore, word limits apply to some of the sections. Contact Veronica Tincher <vtincher@yahoo.com> if you misplaced the instruction sheet with the word limits which was mailed to you. Your answers will be taken from Smart Voter at 8 p.m., September 18 and will be published in the Voters Guide. After that date, you are free to enter more information according to the Smart Voter guidelines. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.