Candidate for
Council Member; City of Belmont

Belmont: City Council candidates urge need for new leadership By Aaron Kinney akinney@bayareanewsgroup.com POSTED: 10/28/2013 06:29:40 PM PDT

The following is an article that was published in the San Mateo County Times. The article contains information about my philosophy of the need for Council Members to work together and also on my desire to work hard to represent the citizens of Belmont to the best of my ability.

BELMONT -- The six candidates for City Council in this small Peninsula town have their differences, but most agree in one key respect: The council has been bogged down recently by petty disagreements, and it's time for a shake-up in leadership.

The body has been split into fractious camps since 2009, with Mayor Christine Wozniak, Councilman Dave Warden and Councilwoman Coralin Feierbach often prevailing in 3-2 votes over Vice Mayor Warren Lieberman and Councilman David Braunstein. But with Warden and Feierbach stepping down, that strained dynamic is poised to change. With three contested seats and just one incumbent in the race -- Lieberman is seeking a third term -- there will be at least two new faces on the council next year.

The outgoing majority is making one last push for influence, however, backing planning commissioners Gladwyn d'Souza and Kristin Mercer. The county Democratic establishment is supporting two other challengers, biotech manager Eric Reed and attorney Charles Stone. Real estate broker Michael Verdone rounds out the field.

Lieberman, who is president of a software development and consulting company, was first elected to the council in 2005. He cites his work on the fire department as one of his proudest accomplishments. He helped forge a joint agency with San Carlos and then, when that alliance collapsed in 2011, assisted in rebuilding a stand-alone department. But in other ways he's been frustrated. The council majority recently skipped his turn in the city's rotating mayorship, a procedural slight that, to some observers, illustrated how the council's policy disagreements sometimes turned personal. In a recent interview, Feierbach said Lieberman "gets on my nerves," though she downplayed the council's dysfunction.

Lieberman, 56, cites last year's controversy over a proposed Crystal Springs Uplands School expansion as particularly difficult. The elite private high school in Hillsborough wanted to build a middle school in the hills off Ralston Avenue. The council expressed support for the idea in 2011, but Warden, Wozniak and Feierbach ultimately shot it down. Lieberman claims he has striven to be professional in his dealings with the council majority. His top concerns include easing Ralston Avenue congestion, boosting downtown vitality and reinstating the council's economic development subcommittee, which the majority disbanded in 2010. "I have always done my best to stay above the fray," said Lieberman. "I have tried my hardest to represent all of Belmont's residents."

KEY ENDORSEMENTS

For Charles Stone, the Crystal Springs imbroglio was a call to action. Besides Crystal Springs Uplands, Stone claims, the council needlessly antagonized Notre Dame de Namur University in the long debate over noise and public access issues at the Belmont institution's athletic fields. Stone, 38, proposes creating a committee to improve the city's relationships with the private school community. His other priorities include fixing the city's aging streets and sewers, improving traffic congestion and fostering economic growth.

"For too long Belmont has been known as a town you don't want to do business with," said Stone, who has been endorsed by three out of five county supervisors and four of the Peninsula's state lawmakers.

Like Stone, Eric Reed claims Belmont has developed a reputation for being inhospitable to business. His slogan calls for replacing the city's "culture of no" -- embodied in his view by overly restrictive sign and tree ordinances and burdensome planning requirements -- with one of "win-win."

Reed, 45, first ran for council in 2011, missing out an a seat by just 11 votes. This time around he's garnered endorsements from all five supervisors and three state legislators.

The Genentech project leader served on the Planning Commission from 2008 until he stepped down in March. He claims he was the only commission member to fully support the Crystal Springs Uplands project. His priorities include economic development, particularly revitalizing downtown, and eliminating lifetime health benefits for long-serving City Council members.

Kristin Mercer, 59, has served on the Planning Commission since 2006. She works part time writing technical contracts, having devoted much of the past 20 years to her two children's education.

Frustrated by the City Council's lack of progress in revamping downtown, Mercer wrote a policy document earlier this year outlining an overhaul of the city's zoning requirements. Perhaps the chief obstacle to downtown development, she argues, is zoning language that restricts property owners to a one-story building on half their lot. The council discussed her proposal but didn't act on it, said Mercer, who views the body as polarized and indecisive. She calls for budget transparency and fixing Belmont's aging infrastructure, and she differentiates herself from Reed and Stone by noting, "I don't view every regulation as bad."

FIXES PROBLEMS

Gladwyn d'Souza, 58, is a retired engineer who now directs Green Youth Alliance, a nonprofit that introduces young people to environmental issues. He has served on the Planning Commission since 2010.

He is the only candidate in the campaign who thinks the council is functioning well, calling the opposing view a "fabrication." He prides himself on practical problem-solving. Before he joined the commission, his concerns about safety and congestion on Ralston Avenue led him to pursue successful initiatives such as a "walking school bus" -- groups of supervised children walking to school together. "I'm the one that sees problems and fixes them," said d'Souza, whose top priorities include public safety, fiscal responsibility and traffic improvements.

Mike Verdone, 25, is a real estate broker and third-generation Belmont resident. He got his introduction to politics last year when he began traveling to Sacramento on behalf of the San Mateo County Association of Realtors to advocate for property owners.

"I'm just here to bring a fresh young perspective to the council," said Verdone, who claims rowing competitively in high school and college instilled the dedication and team-building skills that are necessary to be an effective leader.

Like other candidates, Verdone calls for improving downtown commerce and fixing the city's crumbling roads. He advocates for offering free wireless Internet service downtown with a homepage featuring listings of public events and advertisements from local businesses.

Despite its disagreements, the current council has kept the city afloat financially. All the candidates agreed the city's budget is healthy.