Candidate for
City Council; City of Burlingame

Born in Ireland, I have lived in the Irish Repubic , in Netherlands and Germany, as well as the mid-western United States, Oregon and California. I have called Burlingame home since 1965, at which time I joined the mathematics department at College of San Mateo. Here I have had the privilege and cherished experience of teaching thousands of students, some of them from Burlingame. I have had the joy of seeing many of them later join and contribute to the great companies of Silicon Valley, as well as businesses and building development companies throughout the land. My family roots bred in me the need to give to society, and that is what I have done in teaching mathematics , and in devoting time to humanitarian and political causes. This drive first propelled me to help candidates running at the county level. My appointment to the Burlingame Beautification Commission in 1986 paved the way to my political life in our beautiful Burlingame. I was elected to the City Council in 1989. I am proud of my work for the people of Burlingame since then. I was first elected twenty days after the Loma Prieta earthquake that left 65 URM ( unreinforced masonry buildings) in our downtown, on Burlingame Avenue and on Broadway. And one hotel, the Amfac had to be demolished and a thenbrand-new Hyatt had to close down for six months to do major repairs. The economy was slumping,so our council raised our Burlingame hotel TOT from 8% to 10%. We dedicated the extra 2% funding for the library that was then being planned and for the future sports fields that would be built over the old dump closed in 1986. Careful financial planning helped Burlingame to live through the dlrums of 1989 - 1994. The economy then began to thrive. Thus began the wonderful five final years of the millenium that brought the city unparalleled prosperity. Burlingame hotel TOT rose to $13.8 million in 2000, a banner year that has not since been excelled. In fact, in 2001, hotel TOT fell to $6.8 million. While on an upward trajectory since then, it has not exceeded $11.5 million to date. Now we have a great testimonial to the increased TOT in the 30 acres of sports fields made ready from TOT moneys as well as our magnificent library, the envy of every city in the peninsula. We have more to do in Burlingame, so this November we will ask our fellow citizens to vote for a further TOT increase of 2%, which would bring the TOT to 12% in Burlingame That is significantly less than San Francisco hotels charge their guests, where TOT ranges in the 14-15% range. The statewide economic slump has decreased sales tax, property taxes, and has also advesely hurt the leisure industry (hotels). The state has been taking cities' moneys since 1992, and thereby making fiscal management challenging. The structural imbalance thus created has forced cities to reduce local service levels severely. In Burlingame, we have had wonderful citizen participation (in helping ourselves). In 2000, under my mayorship, we put in place reserve funds for a rainy day. In 2002, I worked with my council to do a long-range plan for the following 6 years to replace part of the nearly 100- year old sewer and water mains. And this spring, our property owners voted to tax ourselves for the next 30 years to do drainage system replacements city-wide. I intend to vigilantly oversee the planning and bond-financing for this series of projects . I am proud, too, that with citizen help and public outcry, we kept PG&E from carrying a 230Kv electric power line under Trousdale Drive,as part of its route to San Francisco from southern San Mateo County. Most recently, I worked with CCAG, the TA and CTC to get the approval of the Auxilary Lane Project from Third Avenue to Millbrae Avenue. This will be completed by summer, 2010. As part of this project, our folks in Burlingame have a lovely bike and pedestrian connecction from west of the Freeway to our sports fields and the Bay Trail. I worked with earlier councils to procure the Chula Vista and Laguna parking lots for Broadway. and I shepherded funding for Broadway's beautiful streetscape and landscape program that now make the street a magnet for the enitre neighborhood and town. I am still working on getting the funding for a new Broadway Interconnect. The national infrastructure bill has been put on hold until the president gets the health bill on the table. So we must be patient about that, it may take another year for our application to be heard. Earlier I listed my current principle goals. I look forward to serving the people and to working within a new framework. Our Burlingame family are united. Our employees have taken a pay-freeze to help with the cut-backs and economic downturn. I am an optimist and believe that I can keep Burlingame still as the best town in the peninsula. I have immense faith in out people and their spirit of working toward common solutions.