League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA November 6, 2012 Election
	Teresa O'Neill Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; City of Santa Clara; Seat 7

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 was an elected member of the Santa Clara Unified School District Board of Education, where we had to manage a budget comparable to the City of Santa Clara's General Fund, set strategy for SCUSD, and hire and evaluate the performance of the Superintendent. During my tenure on the SCUSD School Board, we had to make very difficult decisions on staffing and benefits in order to balance our budget. I also have been on Santa Clara's Planning Commission for 5 1/2 years and the General Plan Steering Committee, where I have gained much knowledge about land use principles and practices as they apply to Santa Clara. I was the vice-chair of the City's Charter Review Committee last year where we examined issues related to how officeholders are elected in Santa Clara and we made a number of recommendations to the City Council that will be examined in the 2013 Council Goal Setting process. This committee made me more aware of the perspectives of many different types of people in our Santa Clara community.

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

The number one concern for Santa Clara continues to be our fiscal solvency. While tax revenues have started increasing again, we still have serious financial issues. Most people now acknowledge what some of us have been saying for years--that Santa Clara and many cities need employee pension and total compensation reform. The Governor's recent legislation was a beginning, but we still have a lot of work to do in this area to ensure that our city of Santa Clara remains solvent and providing essential services to residents and businesses. Instead of only benchmarking salaries and benefits against other cities, Santa Clara needs to evaluate benchmarking against a combination of private industry, non-profit organizations, as well as governmental entities. We need to have the discipline to put money aside each year to rebuild city reserves to a level that will protect us in the event of an emergency. Santa Clara also needs to improve residents' access to their government by increasing information available via the internet, improving use of social media to reach out to residents on many issues and allow them to provide responses. I also will call for more open meetings by the City Council.

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

The first requirement to being able to effect this balance is to work towards eliminating as much of the division between groups as possible. Through engaged and effective leadership, we can acknowledge the many things and interests we have in common and understand that even with differences, we may share common goals that will allow us to work towards a consensus. As Councilmember, I will consider how individual decisions impact separate groups in a way that is in keeping with the strategies and goals for the near and longer-term future. If an interest of a special group is not at all in keeping with achieving the goals of the City, then a very compelling reason must be presented for why the special group's needs should be addressed over the plans of the entire community. I would use my understanding of people and analytical abilities to determine if there is a way to meet the needs of the special group that will not go against the requirments of the majority.

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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: October 10, 2012 17:11
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