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Palo Alto Online

Crowded field vies for spotlight

by Geoff S. Fein and Pam Sturner

In a few days, Palo Alto voters will select five candidates from among the 13 competing for the City Council. If the voters decide against re-electing the three incumbents, the outcome could significantly change the makeup of the council. Each of the 13 candidates brings to the table a variety of backgrounds and civic participation.

The issues this year have ranged from traffic to affordable housing to the city's financial situation to maintaining ground-floor retail. Although the candidates almost universally agree on the importance of the issues, there are differences among the baker's dozen.

Voters who attended any of the candidate forums have gained some insight as to how the candidates would deal with traffic congestion on Palo Alto's streets. Ideas have ranged from removable stop signs that can be placed in front of schools mornings and afternoons, to synchronizing traffic lights.

Candidates have also encouraged the use of speed bumps to slow down or divert traffic from side streets and the expansion of the city's free shuttle service.

All 13 have stayed away from promoting roundabouts on Palo Alto streets. However most acknowledge something needs to be done about commuter traffic.

The candidates have also supported increased rail service for commuter traffic as well as integrating the city's shuttle service with train service.

The candidates have proposed building affordable housing near the University Avenue, California Avenue and San Antonio Avenue Caltrain stations. Additional housing ideas include updating the city's zoning code to allow for mixed-use housing as well as possibly converting existing office space into housing. The candidates have also voiced concerns over how much more housing and population growth the city can handle.

The city's financial situation and the possibility that budget cuts could be needed arose late in the campaign. All the candidates agree the city's finances will have to be closely watched, although how to deal with a deepening recession varied among the candidates. Almost all the candidates said they would turn to the community to ask for solutions should budget cuts become a necessity.

Below, voters will find the 13 candidates' responses to the questions about traffic, housing and finances and how best to tackle the issues. Some of the information was taken from interviews and the League of Women Voters of Palo Alto Voters Guide.
Jim Burch

Age: 75 Residence: Hemlock Court Occupation: Palo Alto City Councilman Background: Full-time volunteer for the Foundation for Global Community.
Traffic: Burch said there is no single way to solve the traffic problem. It won't be fixed by adding more lanes or building more parking structures. He would ask Palo Alto employers to participate in programs to offer incentives for employees that don't drive to work. He is also a proponent of experimenting with traffic-calming projects to see if they can be accomplished without breaking the budget and if neighborhoods want them.
Affordable Housing: Burch doesn't like the idea of building more units of expensive housing just to get a few below-market-rate units. He said the city is looking at purchasing property to use for building affordable housing. Burch said the city could look to develop the former Mayfield School site on El Camino Real or even take a regional look at housing, for example at Moffett Field in Mountain View. City budget: Burch said the city is seeing some trends -- such as a decline in sales and income taxes. He said city staff are brainstorming on how to cut back costs and prioritize services.
Sandy Eakins

Age: 63 Residence: Greer Road Occupation: Co-owner and manager of EOS (computer sales) Background: Mayor of Palo Alto.
Traffic: Eakins said Palo Alto needs to address job-related traffic by providing more rail service. She wants to see rail on the Dumbarton Bridge, and worked to get a light-rail extension for Palo Alto on the short list for Measure A funds and got planning money for bringing BART to Palo Alto via the South Bay. She would like to see physical devices, such as speed bumps, used for traffic calming.
Affordable housing: Eakins said the city needs to zone for compact housing along transit corridors and at rail/bus stations. She said the city will need to leverage for more housing projects. She would like to see an increase in the number of BMR units and wants to add another single-resident occupancy site in Palo Alto.
City budget: Eakins said there are two points to the city's financial situation -- respect and protect revenue sources. She wants to work to encourage and retain retail and business-to-business activities to protect sales tax revenues. She believes in protecting ground-floor retail and encouraging businesses to locate in Palo Alto. Eakins said she will work to protect Palo Alto's utilities. The city will also have to keep a close eye on the consumer price index, leave some positions vacant, not create new positions and require department heads to watch the bottom line.
Hillary Freeman

Age: 44 Residence: Channing Avenue Occupation: Business manager Background: Founder, Libraries Now!; Board of Directors, Children's Theatre; Chairwoman, School Site Council.
Traffic: Freeman said to effectively control traffic, both a reduction in volume and calming implementations are required. She said safe, frequent and "green" public transportation is key to reducing the volume of traffic in Palo Alto. She is pushing the possibility of combining the Palo Alto shuttle with Stanford's Marguerite shuttle and connecting regional mass transportation to local public transportation. Connecting rail service from the East Bay, via the Dumbarton rail bridge, to the shuttle service will allow some commuting employees to get to work without driving. She also supports employing more crossing guards and transitory stop signs.
Affordable housing: Freeman said affordable housing is essential, not only because of state legislation but for the continued economic and social health of the community. Palo Alto needs affordable housing for teachers, emergency workers and local employees dovetailed with appropriate commercial growth control to regain the city's optimal carrying capacity. Freeman would re-evaluate the thresholds for inclusionary zoning; relax the current second unit ordinance and offer an amnesty program and simplified rules for "granny" units on existing lots.
City budget: Freeman said the city must prioritize funding for public works infrastructure and core community assets, like schools, libraries, and parks. To do this, Palo Alto must ensure it matches budget with community values. Citizens must have a say in the prioritization process. Freeman would keep close watch on the sources of revenue to determine any shifts; survey the citizens to determine the community's priorities based on a set of sound fiscal possibilities. Use citizen's input for developing contingency plans that can be implemented quickly should the financial picture change.
Victor Frost*

Age: Not available Residence: Palo Alto Occupation: Homeless advocate Affordable housing: Frost said the city should hand out tents to homeless people. He supports giving tax incentives for development of low-cost housing and favors providing fair and reasonable rents. He supports employing the homeless, training them for jobs and then providing jobs cleaning up the environment.
Pria Graves

Age: 49 Residence: Yale Street Occupation: Artist and community activist Background: College Terrace Residents' Association coordinator and Web master, 1996-2001; Share Our Streets steering committee, 2000-01; Future of Single Family Neighborhoods Advisory Group, 2000-01.
Affordable housing: In Graves' view, the lack of affordable housing stems from the jobs-housing imbalance in Palo Alto, a problem that has roots in both an insufficient supply of housing stock and an over-supply of commercial space. To address the imbalance she would control the growth of office space, clarify the mixed-use zoning codes in force along El Camino Real and California Avenue, and include small apartments in mixed-use developments in Edgewood Plaza and Midtown and along University Avenue. To retard the escalation of housing prices, she would also discourage the demolition of small houses to make way for large ones.
Traffic: Changing the jobs-housing imbalance will have little impact on local traffic, since an increase in the number of residents working in Palo Alto will merely increase the number of local car trips, Graves says. If elected she would push for a range of measures to improve local transit, among them completing the Dumbarton rail extension before BART is extended, electrifying Caltrain, expanding the city's shuttle service and CarLink program, and instituting neighborhood parking permits. She also supports traffic calming and would like to resolve traffic safety so that more children can walk to school.
City budget: Graves feels the city has handled the downturn well so far by asking department heads to look for costs to cut. Given the many layoffs and business closures around town, she does not see any opportunities to raise revenues wisely.
Litsie Indergand

Age: Not Available Residence: Ely Place Occupation: Retired Background: Palo Alto Human Relations commissioner, 1995-2001; homeowners' association president, 1990-94, and member, to present; Community Working Group for Homeless Services board member, 1998 to present.
Affordable housing: Indergand's top priority is to add housing for people making less than $50,000, a category that includes teachers and many police, as well as retail and restaurant workers. She would urge the city to preserve any sites that might be suitable for affordable housing and sees potential for housing to be part of the redeveloped Edgewood Plaza. Indergand looks forward to the completion of the Opportunity Center, which will have some transitional housing, and hopes to see the SoFA (South of Forest Avenue Area) project go forward.
Traffic: Indergand advocates extending the hours and routes of the city's shuttle, a goal that could be furthered by collaborating with Stanford's Marguerite. To encourage commuters to use Caltrain, she would add shuttle service from the city's three train stations to the business districts along El Camino Real, California Avenue and the downtown. "My ideal would be a system where no one would have to walk more than five or six blocks," Indergand said.
City budget: So far Indergand sees no need for drastic cuts to the city's budget but approves of the city's efforts to determine what costs can be trimmed in each department. As it adapts to a recessionary climate, the city should have realistic expectations in evaluating new projects. "Maybe there are things on the drawing board we have to put off," she said, such as a new police building and large-scale expansion of the libraries.
Chris Kelly

Age: 31 Residence: Sheridan Avenue Occupation: Businessman/Attorney Background: Chief privacy officer, Excite@Home
Traffic: Kelly said substantial reduction in commute traffic depends on a number of long-term factors, especially well-planned additional housing so more Palo Alto workers can live in the community and transit projects such as the east-west rail corridor along the path of the Dumbarton Bridge. Palo Alto has more immediate power to reduce in-town car trips through programs like the shuttle, and greater coordination of that service with Stanford's Marguerite and the VTA buses.
Affordable housing: Kelly said higher density residential project proposals should contain mixed-use elements such as grocery stores and other neighborhood retail. He won't support the transformation of neighborhoods through denser housing, but will back higher density projects along transit corridors where the infrastructure exists to support them. Neighborhood input is critical to the proper design of these projects so that the potential negative traffic and other aesthetic impacts are mitigated. Kelly also supports Palo Alto's Below Market Rate housing plans.
City budget: Kelly said the city is undertaking an intelligent planning effort by ordering all department heads to prepare two scenarios of budget cuts -- a narrower 5 percent cut and a deeper 10 percent slash. These figures should give Palo Alto the dollar amounts it needs to match the projected revenue shortfall. In the event the cuts provide little aid, Kelly said he will protect public safety and infrastructure spending and look for creative funding options to preserve current service levels.

Yoriko Kishimoto

Age: 46 Residence: Embarcadero Road Occupation: Management consultant and author Background: Chair of the Transportation Committee for the city's Comprehensive Plan advisory group; treasurer, Hidden Villa board of trustees; Addison School site council member.
Affordable housing: Kishimoto thinks the Association of Bay Area Governments has given the city clear housing goals that should be fulfilled: 1,200 new affordable housing units. "People get caught up in the bureaucracy, and it's key to remember that the reason for (ABAG's numbers) is to have housing that reflects the income levels of the people who work in Palo Alto. I believe in that," said Kishimoto. Relief will come only when the city addresses the jobs-housing imbalance, which Kishimoto would tackle by converting some commercial zoning to residential, adding and preserving granny units, and exploring village residential zoning.
Traffic: Kishimoto emphasizes a citywide approach to improving traffic in Palo Alto. To reduce the number of local trips she would expand the city's shuttle, encourage the use of bikes for short trips, promote walkable neighborhoods containing retail establishments and schools, and put new housing next to transit facilities. She also supports traffic calming. "We have to gain a reputation that says, 'You better not speed in this city,'" she said. To address commuter traffic Kishimoto wants the city to remain actively involved in regional transportation planning.
City budget: Even without the recession, Kishimoto believes that the city budget has become overgrown in the last five to 10 years. "It's easy to add programs and positions, and it's hard to cut back. The recession is a good time to clean house a bit," she said. In addition to freezing or limiting salary increases, she would revise the city's process for letting out contracts and look for services to cut.
Jack Morton

Age: 59 Residence: Webster Street Occupation: Certified Public AccountantBackground: President Palo Alto Recreation Foundation; President Community Skating Inc.
Traffic: Morton said there are two sides to the traffic problem: speed and volume. Palo Alto can vigorously enforce observance of speed limits, but traffic volume is a regional problem that Palo Alto can not solve alone. The light rail system should not terminate at Castro Street in Mountain View but should instead come to California and University avenues. The city needs to work with major employers to develop more effective commute alternatives.
Affordable housing: Morton said affordable housing is a problem largely because Palo Alto is one of the most expensive housing areas in the country. The suggestion is frequently made that large-scale developers should be required to build more below-market-rate units than they are currently required to build. But even if Hyatt Rickeys, the Elks Club and the Fry's Electronics site are all redeveloped, the number of below-market units will not be enough to meet the city's quota. Part of the solution has to lie in combining federal, state and local funds so the Palo Alto Housing Corporation can acquire existing units and add them to the community's stock.
City budget: Morton said the financial situation has both a short-term and a long-term component. The immediate requirement is to minimize the current deficit so programs the community values are not threatened. A hiring freeze may have to be implemented as the governor has done. Longer term, the issue is funding the substantial amount of deferred maintenance in the storm drains, libraries, the Palo Alto Art Center, Mitchell Park and Cubberley community centers. To do this, additional funds have to be raised -- most likely through a bond measure.
Vic Ojakian

Age: 54 Residence: Addison Avenue Occupation: Project manager, Hewlett-Packard Co. Background: Vice Mayor, planning commissioner.
City budget: Ojakian recommends adhering to the City's Long Range Financial Plan, contingency planning, hiring freeze, staff reduction through attrition, a base services and programs review, and no new programs or budget increases.
Traffic: Ojakian supports expanding enforcement, engineering and educational solutions, adding bike and pedestrian paths, expanding the city's shuttle service, a trip reduction program, and transportation reduction programs. He wants to improve the state's radar device legislation so there is more local government control over implementing its usage.
Affordable housing: Ojakian will support funding new or saving existing projects, and will consider relaxing some site and design requirements near transit centers for community serving projects. He will consider BMR and development fees changes to stimulate affordable housing.
Ed Power

Age: 83 Residence: Dartmouth Street Occupation: Retired
Mark Sabin

Age: 49 Residence: Wilkie Way Occupation: Sales manager Background: Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce member, 1991 to present, and current chair-elect.
Affordable housing: Building houses costing $250,000 to $550,000 for "folks in the middle" is Sabin's top priority in the campaign. Such buyers, who include teachers, police, firefighters and other "critical contributors" to the city now have no options, since they cannot afford to buy in Palo Alto at current prices and are ineligible for below-market-rate housing, Sabin says. He also supports adaptive reuse and mixed-use projects.
Traffic: To improve commuting to and from Palo Alto, Sabin wants to make sure that Caltrain upgrades are completed and that Measure A funds earmarked for local projects do not instead go toward the BART extension. To calm traffic on local streets, Sabin proposes synchronizing traffic on the arterials so that cars driving 25 miles per hour hit all green lights. Such a plan would also keep drivers from seeking alternate routes through neighborhoods. "People would rather move than stop and go," he said.
City budget: In the face of recession, the city must take care to preserve its vital economic base, Sabin feels. If elected he would tie every element of the budget to the city's list of priorities, an approach known as zero-base budgeting. "This allows people to focus on priorities rather than on perpetuating their piece of the pie," he said. Needed cuts should come from luxuries, and new projects such as the expansion of the libraries should be put to the vote in a bond issue, Sabin thinks.
Wei Wang*

Age: 49 Residence: Price Court Occupation: Software consultant
Traffic: Wang said the city should expand the shuttle service; discourage cut-through commuter trips on local streets and use parking fees to fund alternative transportation; provide facilities, services and promote programs that encourage walking and bicycling.
Affordable housing: Wang would continue the BMR program, land-bank sites for affordable housing, provide floor-area bonuses for affordable housing and continue the condominium-conversion ordinance.
City budget: The city spends too much of the taxpayers' money and wastes funds on consultants. She believes a more open government will address this problem.

* Responses wholly taken from the League of Women Voters of Palo Alto Voters Guide