Community and Labor Issues

By Emily Reilly

Full Text of Emily Reilly's Responses to SCAN/Central Labor Council Questionnaire

We must take a committed, aggressive approach, including:

• Buying available land for future housing projects and supporting the creation of a land trust
• Supporting private agencies like Habitat for Humanity in their efforts
• Considering increasing density downtown and near transit lines, including housing above retail.
• Studying the feasibility of building single resident occupancy housing
• Developing a plan, with neighborhood input, to redefine our guidelines for inclusionary units
• Supporting the construction of rental housing
• Working with the University to ensure housing for their students

2. What proposals will you make for decreasing automobile traffic congestion?

Once again, a complex issue. As a City transportation commissioner I have learned that there will be no one solution. A comprehensive program must include:

• neighborhood protection to speeding and cut-through traffic with repair of local streets
• a city-wide bike route
• repairing sidewalks, building more sidewalks and producing a walking map of Santa Cruz
• support for bus service
• other alternatives to single person car use including considering available new technology (like prt and Ibus)
• creative programs for businesses, e.g.: shuttles that allow employees to drop a child at day-dare on the way to work.

3. Do you support the current Living Wage Ordinance proposal and do you believe it could be expanded? If so, in what way or ways?

Yes. I would expand it to include the city vendors, when possible, and would work with community advocates, city employees and management to come to the best possible implementation.

4. What are your goals for the redevelopment of Beach Flats? I have a number of different goals for any redevelopment of Beach Flats, keeping it a place where families can live:

• protect the neighborhood, funding community projects and including the residents, and business and property owners, in decisions that affect their futures.
• improve the neighborhood, planting trees, building pocket parks and identifying sites for affordable housing
• restore the La Bahia, in a way that protects its historic value.
• implement a "facade improvement program" for the small businesses in the Flats, similar to those the city has done for the downtown and the Eastside.

I support regulating size at the 12K level, which I believe gives us the most efficient means of deciding how we want to grow.

6. Of the recommendations made by the city appointed Homeless Issues Task Force, which three would you support for implementation?

The recommendations all deserve attention from the council. The three I believe would make the most progress in helping to get people off the streets and protect children from hunger and violence are:

• working with other local government jurisdictions and non-profits to create a family shelter.
• decreasing, with a goal of completely eliminating, the wait-time for drug and alcohol treatment.
• increasing city staff to include a co-coordinator for social services who also worked with other jurisdictions to form an effective working group to develop a comprehensive plan for homeless services county-wide.

The City can meet current water needs in years of normal rainfall. We need to remain dedicated to conservation and careful growth and we need to develop plans for years of drought that include:

• increased voluntary rationing, with incentives
• helping high volume users develop sustainable usage practices, including reclaiming water and encouraging UCSC to look for water on campus.
• considering a desalination plant, shared with another city, that was only available to Santa Cruz in drought years and was developed only after careful environmental review and in a manner that would not be growth-inducing

I am opposed to district elections. We're too small. I think of the entire community as my neighborhood. I like having 7 votes every four years and having all seven councilmembers feel the need to be responsive to me. I also believe that it is hard enough to find good people to run without restricting our pool of potential candidates. I will speak on the matter at campaign forums and include my position in appropriate campaign venues.

9. Will you vote to oppose the contracting out of services now performed by bargaining unit city workers? Please explain.

It's the best thing for the city as a whole to ensure that our local workers are valued and protected. I would vote to support that and oppose the contracting out of city services.

10. Do you support the creation of a Consolidated MetroBase? Where do you suggest locating such a bus center and why?

I support the creation of MetroBase. I will work to find a place that is close the projected center of our transit services, with enough land for a consolidated facility. It is vital that we encourage community involvement, listening carefully and openly and making the decision only after full environmental review.

11. How would you use the influence of your office to support workers trying to organize or may be involved in a labor dispute?

I would be happy to facilitate discussions when possible and to encourage negotiating. I support workers efforts to organize without fear of reprisal and recognize that public officials have a unique opportunity to call attention to these issues.

12. What should the City do to insure proper enforcement of prevailing wage and local hire requirements?

The City has a good prevailing wage policy on the books. The Council should instruct city staff members to enforce it. I will work closely with individual trade union as an elected official and encourage them to communicate with me if they believe the policy is not being followed appropriately.

13. What advisory bodies/commissions would you consider appointing labor representatives to?

All bodies benefit from a varied group of commissioners. I would look for a mix of people from all areas of our community. Labor representatives would contribute favorably to all our city appointed positions, and I will encourage those active in the labor movement to seek commission vacancies.