Candidate for
Council Member; City of Mountain View

Margaret Abe-Koga was elected to the Mountain View City Council in 2006. She served as Vice-Mayor in 2008, and as Mayor in 2009, making her the first Asian American female to serve as such in Mountain View's 108 year history.

Margaret has been is an active member of the City Council championing the issues of public safety, affordable housing, environmental sustainability, youth and families and health and wellness, while serving on the Council's Transportation, Sustainability, Fire Ad-Hoc and Goal-Setting Ad-Hoc Committees, and chairing the Council's Youth Services, Procedures, Technology and Appointments Review Committees.

Regionally, Margaret serves on the Santa Clara County Local Agency Formation Commission of Santa Clara County, and has represented Mountain View on the Santa Clara County Cities Association, the Peninsula Division of the California League of Cities, the Santa Clara County Emergency Preparedness Council, the Project Cornerstone Leadership Team and on the non-profit boards of the Community Health Awareness Council and the Housing Trust of Silicon Valley.

She is also Vice-Chair of the Valley Transportation Authority(VTA) Board of Directors after having served on the VTA Policy Advisory Committee from 2007-2009, serving as vice-chair in 2008, and chair as 2009. Through her work on the VTA, she has ensured Mountain View's fair share of transportation funding for such projects as the Stevens Creek Trail, road and highway improvements, the pedestrian master plan, and the regional bike share program while ensuring the continuation of bus and light rail service for Mountain View residents.

Margaret's public service in Mountain View began with her service on the Human Relations Commission in 2000. She chaired the Commission in 2003. Margaret then, served on the Environmental Planning Commission from 2004-2006 . An alumnus of the Leadership Mountain View class of 2001, Margaret also served on its Executive Council from 2003 to 2005.

In November 2002, Margaret was elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Education, and served as the Trustee for Area 1, which covers the Mountain View-Whisman School District and parts of Mountain View-Los Altos High School, Sunnyvale School, Fremont Union High School, and Palo Alto Unified School Districts.

During her term, Margaret served as the Board's Vice-President, on the Board's Budget Subcommittee, Joint Legislative Subcommittee, Policy Subcommittee, the Head Start Policy Council and the Strategic Planning Task Force. Margaret also led the Board to establish an Alternative Schools Collaborative that brought stakeholders together to formulate recommendations to better serve the County's students in alternative programs as well as to reach out to the estimated 6000 youth who are not in school. During this time, Margaret also served as a precinct captain for the Measure J school bond campaign for the Mountain View-Whisman School District that successfully passed in March of 2004.

In addition to her commission work, over the years, Margaret has been active in local Mountain View groups organizations and efforts including:

• Vice-Chair of the Old Mountain View Neighborhood Association
• Board member of Avenidas Senior Services
• Board member of the Mountain View Sister Cities Association
• Leadership Mountain View Executive Council
• Honorary Advisory Board member Member of Nakayoshi Gakko, a Japanese cultural summer program for elementary school students held at the Mountain View Buddhist Temple
• Active volunteer with the Mountain View Education Foundation in its annual fundraising event
• Member of Las Madres Mothers Group of Mountain View, Mesa La Communidad and the League of Women Voters for Mountain View-Los Altos. At the regional level, Margaret has been committed to such community organizations such as:

• Silicon Valley Women's Alliance as a founding board member
• Japanese American Chamber of Commerce as a board member
• San Jose Taiko (Japanese drumming performing arts group), where she served as Board President
• Japanese American Citizens League as a board member Margaret's involvement in political organizations includes:

• Treasurer of the Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee
• Board member of Democratic Activists for Women Now
• Board member of the Peninsula Democratic Coalition
• Honorary Advisory Board of Women's Voices Women Vote, and
• Founder and a Board member of the Silicon Valley Asian Pacific American Democratic Club

After graduation, Margaret joined Congresswoman Anna Eshoo's district office staff and worked for six years in in many several roles, including as a field representative, specializing in the areas of immigration, housing, civil rights, Asian Pacific American issues and as community liaison to Mountain View. In addition to her public service career, Margaret's work experience includes serving as Associate Director of the Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute (APALI) at De Anza College from 1999-2001 and 2005-2006. Margaret also owned and ran a small business+ an indoor cycling fitness facility + before taking leave from the business to raise her children. She and her husband Yotto have two daughters, Aili and Aina who attend Stevenson PACT School in Mountain View. They also care for Margaret's mother who resides with them.

For her leadership, Margaret has been recognized with various awards including:

• Silicon Valley Business Journal's Top 100 Women of Influence, 2010
• Mountain View Chamber of Commerce Athena Award, 2010
• Association of American University Women Los Altos Mountain View Chapter's Woman of the Year 2009
• California Assembly's Woman of the Year for Assembly District 22, selected by Assemblymember Paul Fong, 2009
• Silicon Valley Business Journal's Top 40 under 40 years of age, 2008
• Asian Americans for Community Involvement Youth Achievement Award 2004
• Santa Clara County Supervisor Liz Kniss' Asian American Hero Award, 2001