League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA November 4, 2014 Election
	Robert "Rob" Means Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; City of Milpitas

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?

As Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Commissioner for 10 years, I inspired and led development of the City's first Trails Master Plan which includes the Coyote Creek Trail.

During 20 years on the Board of the Sunnyhills Neighborhood Association, I successfully fought for a Hetch-Hetchy linear park from Town Center to the northern city limit.

As a 5-year member of the local Sierra Club Cool Cities Team, I wrote the critique of the City's Climate Action Plan.

Over the past 20 years, I helped with almost every important issue that served our commons and improved the quality of life in Milpitas. Those efforts included:
- protecting our hillsides from development
- ensuring our libraries are adequately funded
- helping our schools pass bond measures to maintain their facilities
- supporting development plans that benefit our community while protecting our hillsides
- participating in Council meetings and public forums with suggestions for more affordable housing, reductions in CO2 emissions, increased energy efficiency and PV panels, single-use plastic bag bans, and convincing the City Council to transfer critical property to the School District (a project that took two years).

As Woody Allen says, showing up is 80 percent of life. For 20 years, I showed up for the City, its residents, and its future.

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

1) I will ensure that the new school planned for the transit area will continue to move forward. 2) Milpitas endures serious traffic congestion, largely due to drivers passing through town. A solution that provides cross-town transit for residents could come from using advanced transit. A nearly-ideal opportunity to begin lies in the city's rapidly developing transit area. We can start with a critical crossing over Montague Expressway near the BART station. 3) Create "green energy" jobs that upgrade homes and buildings with water-saving, energy-efficiency and energy-generating features. A PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) program eliminates upfront costs for the property owner, and provides low-cost long-term financing. 4) Many problems arise from the capture of our democracy by monied interests. A 28th Amendment that says money is not speech, and only people enjoy Constitutional rights, is the first step to restoring our democracy. 5) Restore city staffing levels that were cut by 25% over the past 5 years. The needed revenue could come from pollution and free-loader fees.

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

Various groups want policies that favor their interests. As long as those policies support the vision of a sustainable, family-friendly Milpitas, I doubt significant conflicts will arise. Otherwise, I will look for policies that adhere to the vision.

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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: September 18, 2014 09:28
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