League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA November 6, 2012 Election
	Manny Cappello 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 spent six years on the Saratoga Planning Commission making difficult land use decisions. I have spent the last 2 1/2 years on the City Council establishing finance policies, adopting ordinance changes, and negotiating union contracts that were forward-thinking and in the best interest of Saratoga.

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

We recently amended our code to allow outdoor music in our downtown Village. Business owners and residents have been asking for outdoor music in cafes, restaurants, and wine tasting rooms for quite some time. Many of these citizens believed the outdoor patios in many of our businesses would be more appealing to customers if background music was played during certain business hours. However, our village, like most commercial districts, has residential homes in close proximity and would be impacted if not regulated and controlled in a well thought out way. For me, the decision came down to what serves the needs of the Saratoga as a whole. It is my firm belief that a vibrant downtown adds to the quality of life of all residents. However, we have a responsibility to those residents in close proximity to make reasonable accomodations and ensure noise, whether it be music, traffic of delivery trucks is minimized or restricted to certain times so they are minimally disruptive to their lives. Therefore, sound levels were restricted to appropriate levels, music was limited to certain days and hours, and a sunset clause was added to trigger the City Council to revisit our assumptions and make adjustments as needed.

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

I'm proud of my fellow citizens, who care enough to speak up and participate in the dialogue surrounding tough decisions we've faced in our city. Saratoga deserves leaders who have experience, strong values, character and confidence to do the right thing even when a vocal minority may be the voice most loudly heard. Every decision I've made reinforces my deep sensitivity and care for Saratoga and it's residents. I put our citizen's needs first and measure my performance on one yardstick...have my efforts improved the quality of life for Saratogans.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Please answer each question in no more than 400 words. Direct references to opponents are not permitted.

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

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: September 15, 2012 22:11
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