League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA November 2, 2010 Election
	Chuck Page Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; City of Saratoga

The questions were prepared by the Leagues of Women Voters of Santa Clara County 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?

I have served on the Saratoga City Council since 2006. Prior to that I served on the Planning Commission for nearly 4 years. During my 4 years on council I have served as the liaison to the Chamber of Commerce, and currently serve on the VTA (Valley Transportation Authority) Board, the West Valley Sanitation Board, the Water Commission and the Saratoga Ministerial Association. I have also served as the President & Board Member of the Friends of the Saratoga Libraries, SASCC (Saratoga Area Senior Coordinating Council - the Saratoga Senior Center), Sacred Heart Parish Council, Coach for AYSO Soccer & LGS Softball League, Saratoga Rotarian since 2000, Saratoga Chamber of Commerce since 2000. During my 4 years on the City Council, I have ensured a balanced budget as a founding (and continuing) member of the Finance Committee, led the effort to install Saratoga's first Civic Solar project, which will generate 1/3 or more of the City's offices electricity needs, resolved neighborhood issues at Prospect HS and the Saratoga Prospect Center (North Campus). I have listened to the needs of citizens who came before the council and ensured that all sides of an issue were brought forward before making a decision. I have worked to ensure less government while bettering Saratoga. I led the effort to provide incentives to businesses that Saratogans would like to see in our Village area.

In my first term as Saratoga City Council Member, I focused on achieving tangible goals, always working to bring citizens into the process and work to acceptable compromise. Your city council members must have this attitude.

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

One of the key concerns that Saratogans continually have is improvement to our Village and other commercial areas. Business and Facade improvement incentives have helped, but not made a drastic difference. Businesses continue to exit our city. I have spent time focusing on outside entities (city, county & state officials, businesses, etc.) to let them know that Saratoga is open for business. By extending my reach beyond our borders, I have learned that the businesses that would be a good fit for our commercial areas and the builders who would help renovate/revitalize the buildings to accomodate them have a perception that Saratoga is too hard to deal with. Not necessarily the City itself, but the restrictions put forth by citizens and enacted into city code. I've worked very hard to dispel that, but it is not easy. If we truly want to have a thriving Village or functional commercial areas, we must rely on our planning commission to act in our best communal interests. Businesses will not come to our city until we generate sufficient foot traffic, especially in the Village. Please visit several times a week and take a walk around.

I implemented a new process for public input and policy decisions for our budget process. Policy changes and directions are now set much earlier in the process, giving everyone an opportunity to know the basis of the decision that drive the budget, and ensuring that there are no surprises. It is imperative that I continue this effort, and ensure that city staff do not drive the policy and direction of the city, but the elected officials, acting with our citizens input and interests at the basis, create policy and direction. We are accountable to the citizens.

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

We are blessed to live in a democratic society. Anyone can bring forth an idea or plan, but it is only through public discussion and rigorous communications that we can define new policies. I would much rather listen to someone's far-reaching ideas, knowing that I have the ability, through my own information gathering, the public input process and our city codes/process, to incorporate the best of the ideas, and purge the extravagant portions of them.

When the City Council was confronted this year with an ballot initiative that was created because of a perceived issue with the housing element that the Planning Commission and City Council approved. I proposed that the City Council meet with the initiative group instead of seeing this come to a nasty battle. The City Council did, and we were able to remove much of the unintended consequences from the initiative. Then, a task force of 2 council members, Howard Miller and I, worked with 2 representatives of the initiative group to create the language of the ballot measure. This is how we need to do things in Saratoga - work together to resolve our problems.

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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. Answers must not refer directly or indirectly to another candidate.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 8, 2010 19:32
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