Issues

By Cheryl Cook-Kallio

Quality of Life

Maintaining the quality of life we have created in this wonderful community is a challenge given the economic conditions and the affordable housing mandate.

The two issues are closely related. The city council has completed the state mandating rezoning the Council completed this year. State law requires that we balance the number of jobs with the number of housing units so that workers can be close to where they work. Where we put this higher density housing has an impact on the quality of life with regards to traffic, schools and services.

We want businesses to locate here and we want people to spend their money in our city, both very important sources of income for municipalities. Property and retail taxes are how Pleasanton pays its bills. Our fiscal sustainability depends on how we balance attracting and retaining businesses and how we plan for the rezoning as the applications come forward.

Proven Leadership

I have taken courageous positions on transportation and housing issues. I am the leader in making sure Stoneridge Drive is connected.

I was the Co-Chair on the Hacienda Housing Transit Oriented Task force that helped navigate a very costly lawsuit and retain some local control. I was the Co +Chair of the Housing Element Task Force that will result in the first certified housing element for Pleasanton in a decade.

I am an excellent communicator. I am known as a hard worker and a problem solver. I have facilitated relationships with those elected officials who represent Pleasanton. Accessibility to the representative, not their staff or a third party group allows me to directly advocate for the things Pleasanton needs.

I am proactive and assertive in my approach. Anticipating issues before they become problems saves everyone money and keeps us out of court and costly lawsuits. There has been much budget talk about personnel costs and almost no talk about how much the city spends on lawsuits. City payments to outside attorneys in the last three years have averaged almost half a million dollars a year. This does not include litigation payouts that peaked at 2.7 million in 2010. It also does not count the personnel hours staff spent on the same litigation. A well-placed phone by a councilmember or better yet the mayor can resolve many concerns in advance.

Getting What We Need for Pleasanton

Many of the issues we are facing deal with regional issues. Our advocacy of Pleasanton must take into account that we are part of a larger county and state.

In order to help solve the traffic in town we have to cooperate with Livermore, Dublin and Alameda County to fix the regional traffic issues to make it more convenient to use State Route 84 and I680 and I580. BART to Livermore is also important to our city.

We have an opportunity to create jobs and to keep taxes exclusively local by approving Alameda County's B1 that extends the half cent we are currently paying to a penny. This sales tax extension and augmentation will help pay for paratransit, WHEELS, as well as surface streets and highways and BART. Retail sales tax is the one tax you pay that goes directly back into our community stimulating our economy.

Accomplishments and Vision

There are many of which I am proud but they all stem from my position on Stoneridge Dive when I first ran for city council in 2006. At the time I was told that my position was political suicide. However it was the right thing to do. Shortly after I was elected I proposed that we do a traffic study BEFORE we voted to take Stoneridge Drive out of the General Plan. It supported the connection and resulted in the eminent completion of the connection AND the annexation of Staples Ranch to Pleasanton.

This experience reinforces what I believe, that it is important to make decisions for ALL of Pleasanton. I am charged with doing the right thing for the city without regard to political expediency. With that decision and subsequent decisions I know that my job is to balance the desires and needs of all of Pleasanton. I have enjoyed the support of every segment of the community, from members of the Chamber of Commerce, business owners, developers, parks and trails advocates, members of the different unions as well as residents who don't fit any of these descriptors. I think it speaks volumes that sometimes competing interests all agree that I am accessible, do my own research, make decisions based on fact and then go on to next issue.

Safety

Pleasanton residents want and deserve a safe place to live and raise families. We are not going to get the same level of services if we don't find a way to balance the needs of the city with what it cost to have qualified employees. The current constraints in the budget require that we make adjustments. We have made changes in pension costs and medical putting more of the burden on the safety employee. Deep cuts in safety personnel will result in fewer services to the residents of Pleasanton.

In 2007 our general fund revenue was about 94 million and we spent approximately 73% of the budget on personnel. In 2011 it was approximately 87 million and we spent about 79% of the budget. The problem is not just growing personnel costs but also shrinking general fund revenues. This is an illustration of how important every aspect of our community is to the fiscal health and sustainability of Pleasanton. We can create an environment that increases general fund revenue combined with adjustments to bring contracts inline with the economic reality of California and current market conditions. We have high quality safety personnel here because it is known as a great place to work. We want to keep it that way.