Candidate for
Mayor; City of Alameda

Message from Tony Daysog, candidate for Mayor of Alameda

I joined the City Council in 1996 at a time when residents were hungry for change. I served between 1996 and 2006. Many yearned to make Alameda a more progressive, inclusive city.

To that end, I led the successful effort to exempt gay, transgender, and lesbian families from the real estate transfer tax (http://www.daysog.com/equality.html). I led the successful effort to extend medical benefits to domestic partners of city employees.

West End homeowners worried about nearby dilapidated and abandoned buildings at Alameda Point -- that's why I led the effort to demolish the substandard "East Housing" (http://www.daysog.com/easthousing.html) and replace that with Bayport (http://bit.ly/9oJ558), which included an agreement between the city and housing advocates that I helped strike.

Remember the public outcry when Cheaper Cigarettes wanted a prime spot on Park Street? I voted to take over the lease to stop Cheaper Cigarettes, which we did. City staff then lured Peet's Coffee to take the spot Cheaper Cigarettes wanted. Downtown planning didn't happen in a vacuum: it began with taking over that lease.

Along the way, I also made tough, gut-wrenching decisions -- even in the face of a public hungering for the kind of change that I ordinarily agreed with : as much as I wanted to vote for it, I ultimately voted against our beautiful movie theater because, while I didn't expect to collect the market rate rent of $1.50 per square foot, I concluded the thirty cents a square foot rent we settled for was too low -- especially since demand for the theater was tremendous. Locals were tired of spending their movie money off-island. What I learned in my decade of service on City Council is that good things happen when you plan ahead -- like Bayport at Alameda Point, our new Main Library, and Downtown Park Street.

To that end, as Mayor of Alameda:

. I will include more residents in decision-making at City Hall -- encourage new ideas and energy

. I will plan and implement initiatives to improve our City's quality of life -- maintain our small town feel

. Let's redevelop Alameda Point as a transit-oriented village with a mix of new industries and new housing -- with a keen eye on beautiful waterfronts

. Let me be upfront and open about where I stand on one of the most important issues of our time: I believe "Measure A" needs to be modified for Alameda Point so we can build a reasonable mix of housing there, including single-family homes, town houses, and stylish waterfront condos and lofts

. I am proud to have led the effort to create Bayport, but now let's plan a reasonable mix of stylish homes

. I will be open, upfront, accessible, and fair, always making decisions on the basis of facts and empirical data: I will always speak candidly and diplomatically

. I will be myself -- an urban planner who happens to come from the West End of Alameda

. I won't try to be all things to all people. Accordingly, as Mayor, I will insist that City Hall plans and prioritizes

. A top priority: solving short- and long-term fiscal and budgetary challenges

The hunger for change that got me on City Council 14 years ago in 1996, I am convinced, is still with us today in 2010. There's a lot of work ahead. So, let's plan Alameda's quality of life together.

Thank you.

/s/ Tony Daysog