Candidate for
Council Member; City of Santa Clara; Seat 5

The City is currently celebrating our Sesquicentennial. I am a fifth generation Santa Claran with my family coming to Santa Clara in 1846 and my great, great, great grandmother born in the Mission Granary on March 30, 1847. I am married to the love of my life Julie for 16yrs and we have four wonderful children ages 4 - 11 years.My families past and our children's future are woven into the tapestry of the City.

I am the incumbent Vice Mayor / Council Member of the City of Santa Clara seeking re-election. When I was elected to the Council in 1998, I pledged to be a consensus builder on the council. In the past four years, the Council has developed into a highly effective and professional team. As a member of the Council team, we developed a highly successful strategic plan to address the energy crisis to keep the lights on while keeping our utility rates among the lowest in the state. We have approved the largest housing development in the history of the City including affordable, transitional housing, homeless and market rate housing. In addition, we have preserved 40 acres of natural Open Space, completed the first Phase of the San Tomas Creek trail, approved and begun construction on a new state of the art library facility, implemented the STAR car program, completed a new Police Department Facility, approved and begun construction on a new Fire Training Center, completed the Northern Receiving Center, approved and begun construction on a new Youth Soccer Park and Teen Center, completed a new Skateboard Park, approved a new Senior Center and so much more, all with a balanced budget.

In 2000, Santa Clara was awarded the prestigious "All American City" Award by the National Civic League as one of only ten Cities designated in the new millenium. We have further implemented Campaign Finance reform and updated the City Charter.

In addition to my experience as a City Council Member and committee member of thirteen City and four Area Wide Committees, I have worked for the City of San Jose for 18 years and am currently the Administrator of Code Enforcement. As an Administrator, I am responsible for a wide variety of Code Enforcement Services and with a division staff of 104 persons and 8.6 million dollar budget.

My perspective of both a policy maker in the City of Santa Clara and Executive Management implementing policies in the City of San Jose provide a unique perspective, experience and skill set to ensure a holistic approach and understanding of issues and proposals.