League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA June 23, 2015 Election
	Tim Orozco Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; City of San Jose; Council District 4

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of San Jose/Santa Clara 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?

As a community college instructor for 10 years, I developed a strong commitment to education and taught the value of public service. Currently as a legislative aide for a state lawmaker, I've gained a solid grasp of the issues facing our area and the necessary experience to ensure effective representation for Berryessa, North San Jose and Alviso. In this role, I have worked to provide quality constituent service to the community in need. I wish to continue this commitment to public service if elected to the City Council.

2. San Jose budget difficulties have resulted in unprecedented cuts to staff and services. How will you deal with coming shortfalls? Restoring some of the City services? And, if you think the City needs additional resources, what are your ideas for increasing revenues?

It is my firm belief that core services such as Police and Fire, should not be jeopardized in the event of a budgetary crisis. It is absolutely necessary to provide these services for any city, regardless of budgetary constraints. All other departments are subject to review of required services to temporarily maintain a lean, but healthy quality of life that also provides the optimum level of service to the City's citizens.

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

Creating Jobs and Putting Neighborhood Businesses First The true strength of our economy is in the small businesses that serve our local neighborhoods. Our goal is to ensure that businesses have a healthy partner in City Government, and that the process to maintain or start a business in the neighborhood is made with the ease. 


Restoring City Services and Repairing our Streets and Roads: Our youth deserve libraries that are open and accessible, our seniors deserve community centers that provide for their needs and all of our neighbors deserve well-maintained roads and viable solutions to reduce traffic. With BART coming to District 4 in Berryessa, there is a tremendous opportunity for smart growth - a mix of residential and commercial development - and the creation of an urban village setting which meets one of the strategies of our General Plan. However, we must be thoughtful of the approach we take and consider the traffic and safety implications that come with such a multi-faceted project. 


Homelessness/Affordable Housing: 
 Although the San Jose/Santa Clara County Region contains one of the highest concentration of millionaires in the country it still remains in the top 10 list of metropolitan areas with the highest population of homeless individuals. According to the 2013 Homeless Census and Survey, an estimated 12,000 individuals experienced one period of homelessness during the year, and 4,770 were identified as chronically homeless. Additionally, individuals are finding it more and more difficult to afford to live and raise a family in the "Capital of Silicon Valley". Parallel to creating regional partnerships and keeping an open door policy, easing standards to create second units, investing more in the affordable housing funds, increasing overall housing supply, softening land use rules, and promoting inclusionary zoning are some tactics I would support if elected to City Council.



Restoring Faith in City Government The fractious environment at City Hall and the negative political dialogue has caused many to lose confidence in their City Government. I am interested in restoring that lack of confidence by actively engaging as many community stakeholders as possible and inviting them to the decision making table. Each election brings new personalities and I am hopeful that with this new council we'll see a new direction -- one where cooperative and collaborative approaches are taken to come up with real solutions. I will work to bring people together to make sure that the City is run efficiently and that the optimum level of services are being delivered to our residents.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. The answer to each question should be limited to 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: April 29, 2015 10:57
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