| Marin County, CA | November 8, 2011 Election |
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Pacific Sun Questions and AnswersBy Christopher H. "Clang" LangCandidate for Council Member; Town of Fairfax |
This information is provided by the candidate | |
13 Answers from Fairfax Town Council Candidate Christopher Lang9-26-11 Pacific Sun Q and A for FX Town Council by Christopher Lang 1. I am running for office due to problems that the Town of Fairfax has and the apparent inability of the current Council members to solve these in a fiscally responsible way. I am qualified by my many years of volunteer experience, Planning Commission, Chamber of Commerce, etc. (see website lang4fx.com) 2. The three primary issues facing Fairfax and the Town Council are: finances and accountability, (Citizens for sustainable pensions), quality of life issues including noise pollution, pedestrian and bicycle circulation conflicts with motor vehicles. 3. Town officials can best address the concerns of smart meter opponents by initiating our own objective electromagnetic field testing, (old technology). Root cause of public perception problem is bad corporate citizenship of state + regulated monopoly, state politicians need to reform oversight of PG&E. 4. Town smart meter moratorium appears to be largely symbolic because my understanding is that state regulations trump local jurisdictions i.e. Fish & Game etc. 5. If and/or when PG&E begins installing smart meters in violation of the local moratorium, Fairfax Town Council should file a complaint with California State Public Utilities Commission and legally request the assistance of state professional politicians, mark Leno and Jared Huffman. Council should also direct FX Police Department to oversee process, to ensure safety of all parties concerned, as citizen activists may threaten installers. 6. Phil Lesh's proposal for Terrapin Crossroads is a good idea provided that the noise is under control and the parking and traffic problems are addressed. I will do everything I can to deal with significant adverse impacts and ensure they are mitigated into insignificance, as the Town did with the movie theater expansion, the relocation of the Farmer's Market, and Good Earth's move to Fair Anselmo Plaza. 7. A similar live-music proposal from a non-celebrity would elicit a different reaction from town residents and leaders. The proposal has the potential for a great deal of public benefit, especially local merchants and teenagers. A non-celebrity would not guarantee so many visitors and would most likely not generate so much opposition or concern. 8. Given the financial straits of the Town, it would be prejudicial to not be open to such efforts, but it must be clear that budget benefits would outweigh any loss of local control. My opinion is that any major policy decision should be voted upon by the entire town, not just the Council. 9. I do not support Fairfax's measure to raise sales tax by a half cent because now is the optimal time to re-examine the Town budget in order to create a truly sustainable economic program for government services, instead of living year to year and asking for more money. This tax will negatively impact local merchants. Town staff seem unable to answer financial questions from knowledgeable locals. Until sustainable pension reform, complete public review of all expenditures, and realistic plans for raising income in the future are complete, more taxes are inappropriate. Obviously a full cent will not garner my support, for the same reasons. 10. The Town should/could do several things to adapt to a growing `youth movement'. Foremost among them is to expand the Safe Routes to School program (including expansion of multi-model transit opportunities), to encourage and protect our precious children. The FOCAS program should be expanded to include more pre-teens. The town should encourage the School Districts to make the bicycling programs more mainstream and create more afterschool recreational opportunities at local campuses, thanks to the growth of bike programs at White Hill and Drake High School +(Norcal High School Mountain Bike Racing Team etc.). The town should assist the owner of Marin Town and Country Club in (re) developing the recreational facilities there, including arts and crafts workshops plus a theater for dramatic and musical productions. Community gardens would also be good for local youngsters. My biggest fear as a parent was my daughter getting hurt in a car accident due to an impaired teenage driver. 11. Fairfax local businesses would be negatively affected by the construction of a target in East San Rafael, perhaps not seriously, but it would be another nail in the coffin of village-sized brick and mortar establishments. There are many tools in my repertoire designed to spur business in local shops. The main one, which is one of my motivations to run for office, is the beautification of downtown Fairfax. We need to resurfaced sidewalks, more bike racks and lanes, more and better crosswalks, non-deciduous street trees plus installation of public art. These are the projects I have been working on for quite some time. There are many other ideas that could be proposed by the Town Council. 12. A commendable decision by the Fairfax Town Council made this year, is the idea, proposed by me, that there be a special meeting to answer the objections of the new Good Earth location neighbors thanks to our Planning Director, Jim Moore, for his pro-active progressive, and decisive leadership on those valid complaints. The decision where the Town Council made an error was when they decided to spend $160,000 on a lawsuit over access to a Town-owned open space parcel outside city limits. This budget buster has tainted the Town government with the label of fiscal irresponsibility, while the mayor claims his fiduciary duty to protect the citizens from rate increases by Marin Sanitary ($1 per month). 13. Fairfax/s character could be described as: a town small enough where one person can make a difference, as a place where people are tolerant of alternative lifestyles, a leader in Marin regarding nutrition foods and alternative transportation, (bicycling fun), the cradle of mountain biking and home of the Grateful Dead, Marin's best medical marijuana dispensary, (met the 37 conditions of the Planning Commission and a national leader in the struggle against repressive federal regulations), a place where people can look each other in the eye and express a positive greeting, one of the top ten places in the entire S.F. Bay Area to raise a family, the most affordable and friendly town in Marin, supposedly a hippie haven, but we all work so hard to be here, it is a spiritual philosophy based on love and compassion and honesty. The "needs improvement" category is dominated by three ideas, affordable housing and the state and regional mandates to facilitate dwelling units, our ongoing need to implement disaster preparedness, and lastly the need for our planning, zoning and building permit process to be streamlined. |
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