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The questions were prepared by the Leagues of Women Voters of Santa Clara County and asked of all candidates for this office.
See below for questions on
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Click on a name for candidate information. See also more information about this contest.
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1. What experience related to city government would you bring to the City Council?
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Answer from Chris Zhang:
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of General Counsel
U.S. Marine Corps Officer Selection Program
Patent attorney
Community Emergency Response Team
Answer from Homer Tong:
5 terms of almost 20 yr. on the FUHSD School Board of Trustee has prepared me well to become a City Council member.
Similarities between the School Board and City Council:
- Both have 5 elected members
- District budget is $100M, larger than the City's
- Both hold public meetings
- Subject to the Brown Act
- Board President (Homer President 4 times) similar to the Mayor
- Both vote on issues.
I will bring more consensus and fit very comfortably on City Council.
Answer from Donna Austin:
I have had 8 years experience serving on the planning commission. I understand planning issues. I have attended many city council meetings speaking on behalf of the organizations I represent. I have had leadership roles on the Cupertino Library Foundation, the Cupertino Historical Society and Museum, and Quota International of Cupertino.
Answer from Rod Sinks:
I've helped lead two startups from infancy to successful $300 million businesses. In doing so, I've developed my ability to work with others to create a vision, seek consensus, and make it happen. I bring a good head and a good heart, combined with good listening, budget discipline, general management and analysis skills. As a volunteer leader with the YMCA father-daughter program of 300 participants, and a Scoutmaster of a troop of 130 scouts and their parent volunteers, I have strong experience bringing people together to build our community.
Answer from Marty Miller:
My relevant background includes many years of management experience with both large technology firms like HP and smaller ones. And, I'm in my ninth year as a Planning Commission. That unique combination of public and private sector experience has given me a keen sense of how to govern our City effectively and make Cupertino an even better community than it already is. I've personally helped individuals and entire neighborhoods resolve disagreements with the City. I've also worked with groups that have competing interests and brought them together to achieve consensus. My background includes direct experience in designing and gaining approvals for a senior housing in in Hollister, Ca. Cupertino is in short supply of housing alternatives for our growing population of seniors.
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2. What concerns are of particular importance to the city and how would you address them?
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Answer from Homer Tong:
So much of Cupertino is about Schools. Yet there are no council member representing schools. Schools will soon run short of State funds (1 to 2 yrs.) due to State financial crisis. My background (see Biography) best qualifies me to help the city proactively develop programs to help schools. I can easily serve as liaison between the city and schools.
The City also badly needs to attract more businesses and help existing ones such as Apple to expand (Campus II). This provides residents and visitors with more convenient shopping and services and stimulate jobs creation. Additional tax revenues can be used to finance student and other programs.
See my other concerns under Priorities.
Answer from Donna Austin:
Apple's new campus 2 will be a challenging and enriching experience for the City of Cupertino.
Keeping our fiscal stability on target.
Maintaining the beauty of our hillsides from building on ridgelines and enforcing the hillside ordinance.
Supporting our Cupertino Library and keeping library hours 7 days a week.
Completing the Stevens Creek Trail and restoring the creek and promoting a legacy farm with our high schools.
Answer from Rod Sinks:
Education: Build stronger partnerships between the city and our schools. Advocate for our schools and teachers. Consult schools on development in the city.
Business:Make Cupertino a vibrant destination for shopping, dining and services. Bring innovative companies and good jobs to Cupertino.
Environment: Work with neighboring cities, regulators and Lehigh to bring the cement plant into compliance with laws that protect our air, water and land.
Answer from Marty Miller:
Improve neighborhood services: Allocate more money and focus on repairing roads and sidewalks, and reducing traffic congestion at and near school sites. Collaborate with our schools on issues of mutual interest, including protecting our schools from overcrowding.
Shore up the City's finances: The City is currently fiscally solvent. However, the loss of sales tax revenue from HP and reduced funding from the State make us vulnerable. I want to revitalize our retail sector, including Vallco and make Cupertino more business friendly. This will provide more shopping and entertainment options for residents in addition to increasing the City's sales tax revenue. I will also work with our state representatives, whom I know personally, to increase our Tax Equity Allocation (TEA).
Ensure the health, safety and emergency preparedness of our residents: Work with other agencies, regulatory bodies, and our local emergency service organizations to protect our citizens.
Answer from Chris Zhang:
Improve our schools by stopping high-density housing developments (but support senior housing)
Increase public safety, reduce crime, increase disaster preparedness
Keep our city budget balanced
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3. How would you balance the needs of the City as a whole with groups’ interests?
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Answer from Chris Zhang:
Keep special interests out of our city government. Ask big developers to stop trying to influence our city politics. Do what is best for Cupertino as a whole.
Answer from Homer Tong:
One of the most important duties of a Council member is to listen and show their concern for their constituents or groups of constituents speaking before Council. Council members should represent their constituents as their servants, not their masters.
There is currently much dissatisfaction among interest groups and individuals that Council doesn't care about them or their issues. Council must properly balance between making objective decisions on an issue and making constituents feel that they really empathize with their concerns. The latter seems somewhat lacking on Council. Without making people feel Council really cares, their decisions will appear insincere and unconnected.
Hearing what residents have to say must be one of the most important parts of council meetings. Council members must give residents the Feeling that they care. Often this is what they want most.
Perhaps City Council should hold periodic Town Hall meetings or special study sessions without the constraints of Council meeting protocol to allow residents an opportunity to publicly address City Council members. Perhaps Council members could also take a class intended to sensitize them to community group feelings.
Most of all we should vote into office candidates who can better connect with constituents. This should help solve many conflicts with groups' interests.
Establishing dialogue to better represent the feelings of residents and consensus building on City Council will be among my first and most urgent priority.
Answer from Rod Sinks:
I will be accessible and listen to all; when it comes time to vote, you can count on me to put residents' interests first. The council needs to be responsive to those who want to be heard; meetings that go late into the night and keep residents waiting for hours discourage good dialog. Topics that interest many speakers or require open consensus-building between the public and council members can be addressed with special-topic meetings and study sessions that start at a reasonable hour to let all interested parties be heard.
Answer from Marty Miller:
As a Planning Commissioner, I have always put our residents interest first. For example, when first appointed to the Planning Commission, the application approval process seemed backwards. First, informal discussions were held with staff and the Council, after which the applicant fully designed the project and presented it to the Planning Commission and the public. At that hearing, the residents finally got to study the project details and comment. However, the applicant was not receptive to making changes at that point. Arguments with the Community often ensued. I succeeded in changing the General Plan to require input from the Community first. The Mainstreet project, which will create a downtown for Cupertino was the first project to consider Community input before being fully designed. This resulted in a win-win for the City, the Community, and the project applicant. Approval took far less time than previous large project approvals and the Community strongly supported it because they participated in the process.
Answer from Donna Austin:
The needs of the city should be similar to the whole groups interest. Maintaining the balance with neighborhoods, schools, retail, parks and housing is always the challenge and is something I will work very hard to achieve.
Responses to questions asked of each candidate
are reproduced as submitted to the League.
Candidates' responses are not edited or corrected by the League.
The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.
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League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
