League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA November 3, 2009 Election
	Barry Chang Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; City of Cupertino

The questions were prepared by the the League of Women Voters of Cupertino/Sunnyvale 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?

As Public Safety Commission for Cupertino I aquanaut myself with all aspects of safety in our city. I worked with law enforcement and the fire department to address issues of traffic safety, residential safety, fire hazards and emergency preparedness. This gave me opportunities to interact with city government and residents to help resolve potentially hazardous and dangerous concerns and situations.

When I was a Board member of the Cupertino School District (CUSD) I worked with the City in a joint program whereby the City would maintain school playgrounds in exchange for access by residents to school playground after hours.

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

There are 3 current issues related to Health and Safety which I feel are of critical concerns:

1. Air Pollution, especially mercury, emitting from Lehigh Southwest Cement Plant (formerly Hansen Permanente Cement Plant, formerly Kaiser Cement Plant):- EPA reports that this cement plant just 3 miles west of City Hall & Library is the 5th highest mercury polluter in the nation. Tiny cumulative amounts of mercury over time can interfere with brain development. Residents come here because of our great schools. If mercury interferes with brain development some children will be incapable of benefiting from this education. This cannot be tolerated. I was the only candidate who spoke against the renewal of Lehigh's Title V permit on September 17th public hearing at Quinlan Center until they can prove they meet the latest pollution standards.

2. Unleashed dogs in City Parks:- I strongly oppose permitting unleashed dogs in neighborhood parks as posing a safety issue with children sharing the same parks. I would support a fenced off area at Stevens Creek County Park for unleashed dogs if it were properly designed to accommodate dogs.

3. Traffic congestion around schools:- Children walking or biking to school are endangered of being struck by parents flooding schools streets to drop off students. I propose organizing and centralizing car pool pick up locations around the city and only allowing car pool drop off at schools to reduce traffic.

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

First I would make sure that the needs of the City were the best interests of the community, not special interest groups. If health and safety are at stake solutions must be found that do not bankrupt city coffers. I also feel we must protect the effectiveness of our great schools, the reason why many liver here. I will look very critically at group interests which could jeopardize either of these two core values. Otherwise I would consider each conflicting interest on its merits and financial impact before making any decisions.

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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 31, 2009 13:48
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