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 Sunnyvale; Seat 3

The questions were prepared by the the League of Women Voters of Cupertino/Sunnyvale and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Experience, Important Concerns, Downtown Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. What experience related to city government would you bring to the City Council? Answer from James R. "Jim" Griffith: I've served on the Sunnyvale Board of Library Trustees for six years, five as Board Chair. As Board Chair, I represent the Board's position and directly advise the City Council on library-related issues, including creation of a branch library, creation of a new main library, installation of the new RFID-tracking and automated check-in system, and future use of the Raynor facilities. Having done this for five years, I have extensive experience with City Staff and the City Council. I know what works well, and what doesn't. I also serve as Vice-Chair of the Silicon Valley Library System Advisory Board, one of only three private Sunnyvale citizens to represent Sunnyvale on inter-governmental relations boards. I served on the 2008 City Manager Selection Committee (resident panel) which resulted in the hiring of Gary Luebbers as our new City Manager, as well as the 2009 Library Director Selection Committee. In the past several years, I have spoken before Council and Commissions many times on behalf of issues involving open and transparent government practices, the environment, improving our library and children's education services, parking in the Heritage District and Morse Park, funding the Morse Avenue Park, and the proposed 49er stadium and its impact on Sunnyvale residents. I've worked hard to serve Sunnyvale's residents and be a positive voice for change in Sunnyvale. Answer from Penny M. Kelly: I am a leader. I bring innovative thinking and refuse to accept the answers "Because we've always done it that way and Because they say we have to do it that way." We are a country of individuals who have always challenged the status quo. During my 15 year career at Intel I managed worldwide programs working with over 4000 people across many countries and cultures. I started with a budget of $3 million for one program and, over seven years, added two more programs, many more services and reduced my budget by almost 1/3. Recently I went into business for myself where I learned the real value of a dollar and the cost to operate in a recession. I became the leader of my neighborhood association and acted as a liaison between neighbors and the city to launch the first parking permit program in Sunnyvale. I am an 18 year resident of Sunnyvale, a consumer of Sunnyvale services, a volunteer in many organizations and have stepped up in leadership roles in our Chamber of Commerce, San Jose Chamber of Commerce and many other organizations. 2. What concerns are of particular importance to the city and how would you address them? Answer from Penny M. Kelly: One of the largest problems facing our city is a lack of communication both internally and externally. Often people are not informed of changes that affect them or information is hard to find. Residents are treated disrespectfully when addressing city council. Their concerns and observations are dismissed. Some may not come forward because they think it is futile to speak out. We need to empower our neighborhood associations and give their concerns and recommendations the weight they deserve. We can increase the push of information by connecting to the email hubs the neighborhood associations have already built. We do not need to reinvent the wheel. We do need to reach out to those who do not have email and do more than posting notices at the Senior Center or within a few feet of an affected area. Sustainability is another concern of our residents. Our city council does a great job of committing to sustainability and a poor job of planning for it. We've committed to reducing our carbon footprint and increasing our park space. But the actions that follow don't support these commitments. Increased density, selling off land that was supposed to be used to expand parklands, tearing down buildings to create new (creating landfill) when existing buildings are empty, promoting bond measures that will cripple residents with taxes and filling our schools to overflowing does not create a sustainable environment. Every time we set a goal, we should hold every future decision up to that goal and ask ourselves, "Does this decision support or undermine this goal?" Our spending is out of line with our revenue. Many Americans are having to learn to live without credit and live within their means. This is not true of our city. We've just seen a $30M increase in our budget to pay for city salaries. We have less people but are paying them more. City services have been cut to pay for these increases. We need leaders who understand what it's like to live on a fixed income and understand our residents don't have bottomless pockets. Answer from James R. "Jim" Griffith: The primary challenges facing Sunnyvale are the City's $13 million structural deficit and the completion of the Downtown development. All other issues will take a back seat to these two priorities over the next few years. The deficit forces us to reconsider how Sunnyvale provides every service to its residents, and we need thoughtful and experienced leaders to make the decisions that will provide the best and most services for the lowest cost to the residents of Sunnyvale. Towards that end, I championed the purchase and installation of the Sunnyvale Library's new RFID-based check-in and automated sorting system, which will pay for itself, additionally save the city more than $1 million over the equipment's lifetime, and dramatically improve services and availability of books for library patrons. We need to look for other opportunities to leverage technology and reduce costs. However, the City Manager made it clear that 86% of the City's operating budget goes to employee salaries and benefits, and that this level is not maintainable. We need to work with Sunnyvale's labor units to create a sustainable model for providing city services. Beyond this, we need to improve public safety response time throughout the City, which has increased in the past few years to an unacceptable level. We have a library that does not meet residents needs, and we must solve this by expanding or replacing the current library, and by eventually building a branch in the North. Water is the next great challenge facing California cities, and Sunnyvale must be proactive, by replacing the treatment plant (as planned) with new technology to better recycle waste water, and by expanding the scope of the recycled water pipe system. We face challenges increasing park space since Sunnyvale is completely built out, and we need to protect and maintain the park land Sunnyvale already owns. And we need to take local responsibility for the global environmental challenge and work to make Sunnyvale a more sustainable city. But most of all, Sunnyvale need to do a better job of informing and engaging residents, and it must do more to make residents a part of the solution to the problems we face. 3. What solutions do you propose to complete the Downtown Project? Answer from James R. "Jim" Griffith: With $280 million in construction already done, I do not believe a radically new plan should be considered. Throwing away that much effort, plus the completed parking structure, is short-sighted. I believe we need to continue to go forward with the basic plan in place, with some changes. The problem with Downtown construction is the funder, RREEF, which failed to live up to its contractual obligations. That problem is being resolved as we speak, as RREEF transfers ownership of the project to Wachovia Bank in what's being called a "friendly foreclosure". Wachovia has already started the work of weatherizing the buildings until the project can be restarted. The City is working with Wachovia to see if they will take on financing the project themselves in its entirety. But the City hasn't had much luck finding one entity to finance the whole $750 million. If Wachovia isn't interested, the City should pursue financing the Downtown with multiple smaller investors in $50-100 million individual blocks. I certainly prefer using one investor than using ten, if possible. But I prefer using ten investors to having the project die yet again. Sunnyvale must have the Downtown open, vibrant, and successful, and all options, short of committing additional City dollars, should be on the table to make this happen. And the first priority should be the completion of the planned movie theater. Sunnyvale is the second largest city in the County, yet it doesn't have its own theater. A theater will draw people to the Downtown, which will revitalize the local stores and restaurants, since people going to the movies will also want to eat and shop nearby. That plus the reopening of Target will bring in needed revenue, demonstrate the Downtown's commercial potential, and encourage investors to fund the rest of the Downtown. Answer from Penny M. Kelly: The current city council did exactly what was done in the past and it failed again. Selecting a single source for this project has not worked. Allowing the single source to try to do everything at once has not worked. There is one portion of the project for which there was a tenant, the movie theater. Had that been done first, we would have some revenue coming in for the project. Had the Town and Country been left, we would have revenue coming in from the many businesses that were thriving there. At this point I suggest selecting a portion of the project and completing it. Then take the next block and work on it after the first block is filled and revenue is generated to help with funding. To relate it to a Silicon Valley analogy, it's like writing software. You decide what you must have for the initial release, then you build on it for Version 2, Version 3, and so on. But you must get Version 1 built and delivered to recoup the costs and generate revenue for subsequent versions. Yes, the project has suffered because of the current economy, but other cities have delivered similar projects that opened this year. They did it by scaling back the initial delivery and looking at which retailers would be willing to come into those areas. They've also looked for business outside of the norm such as as churches and schools. Because this is a local mall with no immediate freeway access, I would favor talking to outlet retailers. There is no outlet mall in this area and this would draw patrons from the surrounding cities. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' responses are not edited or corrected by the League. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.