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Transcript of Rob Bonta
The Island’s Candidate Questionnaire
Rob Bonta, City Council Candidate
Name: Rob Bonta
Age: 39
Occupation: Deputy City Attorney, San Francisco City Attorney’s Office
Relevant experience:
I am currently an elected public official representing the entire City of Alameda
as a Director of the Alameda Hospital Board.
I am currently the Chair of the City of Alameda’s Economic Development
Commission (EDC). I have served for nearly four years on the EDC.
I am the past President of the City of Alameda’s Social Service Human Relations
Board (SSHRB). I served on the SSHRB from 2003 to 2006.
I am a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office where I
advocate for consumers and support the city’s public servants.
I graduated with honors from Yale College in 1993, earning a B.A. and majoring
in History. There I received the Roosevelt L. Thompson Prize awarded at graduation to
the student with the “greatest dedication to and capacity for public service.” I was also
honored to receive at graduation the William Neely Mallory Award for the “the best male
athlete at Yale.”
After graduating from Yale College, I pursued graduate studies in Politics,
Philosophy and Economics for a year at the University of Oxford in England as a
recipient of the Henry Fellowship, awarded for academic distinction.
I earned my J.D. from Yale Law School in 1998.
I attended public schools in Sacramento through high school.
Why are you running for this office?
The primary reason I am running for Alameda City Council is to continue and
deepen my commitment to public service to our city and to improve the lives of all
Alamedans. Alameda is at a critical juncture. The decisions the city council will make in
the next four years will have major impacts on the city for years to come. I will listen to
Alamedans and fairly represent them in those decisions in order to secure Alameda's
future.
I grew up the son of an immigrant mother from the Philippines and a father from a
working class background in Southern California. My parents wanted a good life for
their children-- my older sister, my younger brother, and me. Through hard work and
education, my parents believed we could do anything. I received a strong California
public school education growing up. And later, with the help of financial aid and work
study, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend some of the finest universities in
the world-- Yale College, the University of Oxford, and Yale Law School.
Now, as parents ourselves, Mia, my wife of thirteen years, and I dream of good
lives for our three children—Reina (11), Iliana (5), and Andres (1). We moved to
Alameda over a decade ago because we valued the high quality of life we all enjoy here.
We love the great schools, the safe streets, the “mom and pop” shops that fill our unique
business districts, the parks and open space, and the diversity of our community.
I grew up in a home that valued public service, activism and the common good.
Those values were instilled in me from an early age. My parents both worked for the
United Farm Workers with the great Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and Phillip Vera
Cruz. They were part of the Civil Rights movement. And they dedicated their lives to
social justice and the service of others. They each served the people of the state of
California—my father at the Department of Health Services and my mother at the
Department of Water Resources—for over fifty years combined.
That commitment to public service has taken root with me and only grown
stronger over time.
I currently serve as a publicly-elected official representing all of Alameda as a
Director of the Alameda Hospital Board. There I helped oversee the greatest financial
turnaround in the history of Alameda Hospital—moving from an approximately $2.5M
deficit to an approximately $.5M profit, a $3M swing, over the course of one year—while
providing critical, high quality health care services to the community. And the Hospital
added over $1M to that surplus the following year for a total surplus of $1.8M. During
the time that I served on the Hospital Board, the hospital moved in a positive financial
direction every single year, which amounted to a total move of $5.5M in a positive
direction, and put together the only two consecutive years of a financial surplus in the
history of the City of Alameda Health Care District.
I serve as the current chair of the City of Alameda’s Economic Development
Commission, where I have promoted economic growth in Alameda that will improve the
quality of life for Alameda’s residents and employees.
I served as the President of the City of Alameda’s Social Service Human
Relations Board, where I helped ensure that safety net services were available for the
most vulnerable members of our community and that all of us could live, work, play and
worship in Alameda free of discrimination.
I work as a Deputy City Attorney at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office
where I stand up for public servants who stand up for us each day and I advocate for
consumer protections.
I served as the Co-President of the City of Alameda Democratic Club where I
fought for policies and candidates that represent the best values of the Democratic Party.
I served as the President of the Asian Pacific American Democratic Caucus of
Alameda County, where I worked to strengthen the political voice of the APA
community.
I have been a Board Member of Filipino Advocates for Justice (formerly Filipinos
for Affirmative Action) since 2004. Filipino Advocates is a community-based
organization that provides direct services to youth, immigrants, and laborers.
I have served on the Board of Directors and then the Advisory Board of Directors
of the Manilatown Heritage Foundation (MHF) since 2003. MHF is a community
development organization currently operating the Manilatown Center on the ground floor
of the rebuilt International Hotel in San Francisco.
I served as a Board Member of the Alameda Hospital Foundation from Spring
2007 to Fall 2009.
I served as the Board President of Alternatives In Action from 2005 to 2009 and
was on the Board from 2003 to 2009. AIA oversees a charter school (B.A.S.E.),
preschool (Home Sweet Home), and after-school enrichment program (H.O.M.E.)
centered in the West End of the City of Alameda.
I am a founding member of the Filipino-American Democratic Club of Alameda
County (2009-present).
I currently participate in the Robles-Wong vs. California litigation, in which my
daughters Reina and Iliana are named plaintiffs, that seeks to fix the state of California’s
broken public school finance system and ensure that children in Alameda and throughout
the state receive the financing they need to receive a high quality education.
And I am now running for City Council. Being a City Council member provides
the greatest opportunity to make a difference in the lives of Alamedans, to serve our
community, and to continue the work that I have already been doing.
While I believe that Alameda is a great City, I also believe that it has not yet
achieved its full promise. Alameda can still be more. And we need an effective and
experienced leader to take us there.
We need a leader who will promote economic development and support our local
businesses.
We need a leader who will support a fiscally responsible City budget that properly
reflects our community’s values.
We need a leader who will work to unlock the full potential of Alameda Point,
making it a world-class asset for all Alamedans, while creating jobs, mitigating traffic,
and doing so in a fiscally sound way.
We need a leader who values the enormous contributions of our public safety
employees (police and fire) and is willing to work with them to secure our City’s
financial future.
We need a leader who will build a partnership with and advocate for our schools.
We need a leader who understands that we need to fight to protect and enhance
Alameda’s high quality of life or else risk losing it.
I am running for City Council because, through my leadership and service to
Alameda, I have demonstrated that I can achieve these goals.
As a City Councilmember, I will promote sound economic development, preserve
public safety, exercise fiscal responsibility, build a partnership with our schools, and
protect services for our community’s most vulnerable. Working closely with the
community and fellow City leaders, I will work to improve the lives of all Alamedans
and ensure that we maintain and enhance the quality of life in Alameda that we all love.
Why should we vote for you?
I have a proven record of success addressing the biggest challenges our City
currently faces.
I have demonstrated fiscal discipline and responsibility. On the Alameda Hospital
Board, I oversaw the greatest financial turnaround in the Hospital’s history, turning a
deficit into a surplus, while preserving critical, high quality health care services. Under
my leadership, the Hospital moved from an approximately $2.5M deficit to an
approximately $.5M profit, a $3M swing, over the course of one year. And the Hospital
added over $1M to that surplus the following year for a total surplus of $1.8M. During
the time that I served on the Hospital Board, the hospital moved in a positive financial
direction every single year, which amounted to a total move of $5.5M in a positive
direction, and put together the only two consecutive years of a financial surplus in the
history of the City of Alameda Health Care District. Our City leaders must be good
stewards of our valuable public tax dollars and I have demonstrated on the Hospital
Board my ability to provide such financial stewardship.
I have demonstrated a deep commitment to our public schools. As a
Councilmember, I am committed to building a partnership with the public schools and to
supporting this pillar of strength for our community. I currently participate in a statewide
litigation, in which my daughters are named plaintiffs, that seeks to fix the state of
California’s broken public school finance system and ensure that children in Alameda
and throughout the state receive the financing they need to receive a high quality
education. And I have worked to ensure that our schools receive the local funding that
they need to remain strong.
I have demonstrated a commitment to sound and responsible economic
development. My work as current Chair of the City of Alameda’s Economic
Development Commission is evidence of this. As set forth in further detail below, this
commitment includes, but is not limited to, promoting effective business retention and
business attraction strategies for the City.
I have demonstrated the ability to successfully work with organized labor.
Recently, while I served as a Director at Alameda Hospital, in an atmosphere of trust and
mutual respect, the Hospital was able to negotiate fair contracts with its labor unions that
also planned for Alameda Hospital’s future. For example, the membership of the
California Nurses Association (CNA) unanimously ratified a contract that contributed
significantly to the financial health of the Hospital. In addition, Hospital management
was asked, and agreed, to give salary reductions to help secure Alameda Hospital’s
financial future.
I have demonstrated that I am an effective and experienced leader, who brings
energy, commitment and fresh ideas to address the challenges our residents are facing. I
have demonstrated that I am not afraid of and will not shy away from a challenge. For
example, when I joined the Alameda Hospital Board, the Hospital was just closing the
books on a fiscal year that ended in a multi-million dollar financial deficit. Some warned
against my joining the Board because they believed the Hospital could potentially close
on my watch. But, working closely with my colleagues and staff, I helped turn the
Hospital around financially and worked to preserve this valuable community asset. The
challenges that our City faces today are significant, and require the same leadership
abilities that I have demonstrated on the Hospital Board.
I have demonstrated a collaborative and cooperative approach to leadership. I
will work with colleagues and staff to move our City forward, rather than participate in
any divisiveness that will prevent the City Council from best serving Alameda’s
residents. I will lead by bringing people from different backgrounds and perspectives
together to find common ground. I will represent all residents of Alameda, not just a
particular segment. If we are to move forward as a City, we must do so together, with
civility, open minds, open ears, and a healthy and constructive dialog.
And I will work closely with the community. For example, as a City
Councilmember, I will make myself accountable to the voters who elect me by holding
regular community meetings. At these meetings, voters will have the opportunity to ask
questions and hear from me in person. And, perhaps more importantly, I will have an
opportunity to hear from them. I will listen. In addition, I will make myself available to
voters through email and telephone. In order to increase the community’s access to their
government, I was instrumental in ensuring that Alameda Hospital followed a more open
and inclusive process for its regular meetings. I spearheaded the effort to film meetings
and make the videos available to members of the public on the internet. I also worked to
ensure that all meeting agendas were posted and available well in advance of meetings.
What do you feel are the roles and responsibilities of the office you’re seeking?
I believe that the role of a City Councilmember is to promote and ensure the
overall health and success of our city.
A Councilmember’s role is to provide vision, policy direction, and oversight for
the city while ensuring that the entire community is fairly represented and given a strong
voice. A councilmember must provide proper oversight of city management/staff to
ensure accountability and transparency and to ensure that the Council’s direction is being
implemented and executed. City management/staff must not be allowed to stray from the
policy direction of the Council and must be held accountable for their conduct and
actions. If this is done well, Councilmembers need not engage in micromanagement of
day-to-day operational matters.
Ideally, the City Council and management/staff will have a symbiotic
relationship, each working seamlessly with the other in pursuit of the same goals. This
will result in optimal levels of service to the people of Alameda.
As a Health Care District Director for the past approximately three years, I am
proud to say that the District Board and management/staff have enjoyed an extremely
strong relationship. Together, we have formed a high-functioning team that has elevated
the best interests of Alamedans above all else. The hallmarks of this relationship include
cooperation, active listening, mutual respect, open-mindedness, and close collaboration.
The strength of that relationship is reflected in the many successes of the Hospital,
including, but not limited to, the financial turnaround of the Hospital, in which we turned
a deficit into a surplus.
What do you think is the most pressing issue you would face if elected and what
would you do to address it?
The most pressing issue will be preserving and enhancing the public services that
our community values most by exercising fiscal responsibility.
Under my leadership, as set forth in more detail above, Alameda Hospital effected a
financial turnaround, turning a deficit into a surplus. I will exercise the same fiscal
discipline on the City.
Exercising fiscal responsibility will require deliberate and intentional efforts both
to reduce costs and to generate additional revenue, an approach that worked successfully
at Alameda Hospital.
The work I have done as Chair of the Economic Development commission in
cultivating sound and responsible economic development, particularly in promoting
efforts for business attraction and business retention, will be a critical part of this
strategy. If we pursue sound economic development at Alameda Point, our business
parks, our business districts, in West Alameda, and elsewhere, we can substantially
improve the quality of life for all Alamedans while also generating important tax revenue
(transfer tax, property tax, sales tax, etc.) to support the services we care about most in
Alameda, such as our public schools and our public safety (police and fire).
The recently-approved VF Outdoor project at Harbor Bay Business Park is an
exciting economic development project that the City should build on and replicate.
Alameda recently attracted VF Outdoor (The North Face, JanSport, Eagle Creek, etc.) to
relocate their corporate headquarters to Harbor Bay Business Park. VF Outdoor will
build a five-building campus of all new construction, thereby generating numerous union
construction jobs. It will generate $3M in tax revenues over 12 years and another $3M in
AMP commercial rate energy payments. It will become one of the highest property tax
sources in the City (as well as one of the largest private employers in the City with 650
jobs). And it will be a catalyst for additional quality development, as high quality
companies attract other high quality companies.
Working effectively and collaboratively with our labor unions will also be critical
and is something I have demonstrated I have the ability to do. In an atmosphere of trust
and mutual respect, Alameda Hospital was able to negotiate fair contracts with its labor
unions that also planned for Alameda Hospital’s future. For example, the membership of
the California Nurses' Association (CNA) unanimously ratified a contract that contributed
significantly to the financial health of the Hospital. In addition, Hospital management
was asked, and agreed, to give salary reductions to help prepare for the future. I will
employ this same respectful, trustworthy, and effective approach in working with the
City’s labor unions to secure Alameda’s future. Our city employees want what we all
want—a thriving, healthy City—and they are willing to contribute appropriately to ensure
that outcome. But, recently, the City has not been able to bargain successfully with its
labor unions. I will continue to work with labor effectively, with an open mind and an
open ear and in a spirit of mutual trust and respect, so that together we can face the
significant challenges our City faces.
The City must also consider new and creative ways to generate additional
revenue. This could take the form of accessing federal monies, such as the recently-
approved Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant which
provided funding to put six laid off firefighters back to work. We must also, among other
possibilities, work to improve collections on emergency ambulance services and
seriously explore the possibility of the Fire Department providing interfacility ambulance
services, both of which could provide valuable dollars to the City’s bottom line.
What do you think needs to be done with Alameda Point – and what steps would
you take to make that happen?
I believe that we should pursue sound and thoughtful development of Alameda
Point. Alameda Point is one-third of our City and lies in a prime Bay Area location. But
the use of Alameda Point is not currently being optimized. It has been approximately 15
years since the Navy left and the Point is far from meeting its full potential.
But we do not need just any development, we need the right development.
I believe that we need to consider our full range of options for Alameda Point.
Community input will be critical to what we ultimately decide to do.
Any decision I make as a City Councilmember regarding how best to develop
Alameda Point will be guided by three critical principles: (1) Financial soundness, (2)
job creation, and (3) traffic mitigation.
Guided by these three principles, I believe that we should move the development
of Alameda Point along with a degree of urgency, while also moving thoughtfully and
carefully.
If done right, we can improve the quality of life for all Alamedans and create
wonderful public amenities for the entire community to enjoy (parks, open space, sports
fields, thriving waterfront business and entertainment districts, commercial, retail, etc.—
in short, a world class development) while also creating jobs (mostly in light industry,
including, but not limited to, green economy jobs) and generating tax revenue (transfer
tax, property tax, sales tax, utility users tax, business license fees, Alameda Municipal
Power (AMP) payments, and building permit and inspection fees), which revenue will
support other programs and services that our community values most, such as our schools
and our public safety (Police and Fire).
I am open to considering different and creative ways to successfully develop
Alameda Point.
However, the concept of the City being its own Master Developer raises some
major questions for me regarding my requirement that the project be financially sound.
How will the massive up-front costs of the project be paid for, such as cleanup, buildout
of public infrastructure (roads, sewer lines, water lines), addressing sea rise, addressing
seismic challenges, etc.? Are the proposed funding sources reliable? Will they be
enough?
The traditional method for redeveloping a former military base has largely been a
private-public partnership in which the City works with a private partner.
I understand the attraction to the City being its own Master Developer, especially
after having such a poor experience with our last master developer SunCal. I do not think
SunCal was or is a good fit for our community, I voted against Measure B (SunCal’s
ballot measure) way back in February, and I have taken an early, public, and strong
position against accepting any campaign contributions from any developers.
But the pendulum does not have to swing all the way to the other extreme.
Because it did not work out with SunCal or APCP, does not mean that we must write off
all private partners forevermore.
It means that we must find the right partner, not just any partner.
And, in order to do that, we need to do our due diligence and conduct an
extremely thorough and comprehensive review of the City’s potential partners to ensure
that (1) they have the required financial wherewithal to complete the project and (2) they
will adopt and embrace our community’s vision for Alameda Point.
We need to implement our community’s vision of what should be developed at
Alameda Point, not the private partner’s view. And in order to crystallize that vision, we
should invite and rely on substantial community input. The City Council—not the
private partner or an outside consultant—should lead this discussion and community
visioning process.
After four year in office, I would hope that the cleanup at Alameda Point is
complete or nearly complete and that a clear plan has been approved and supported by
the community and City leaders and is well under way.
What steps would you take to bolster Alameda’s economic base?
I am currently the Chair of the City of Alameda’s Economic Development
Commission (EDC). I am honored to have been elected to this position by my colleagues
on the EDC. By pursuing sound and responsible economic development, particularly in
promoting efforts for business attraction and business retention, we can bolster
Alameda’s economic base. We can substantially improve the quality of life for all
Alamedans while also generating important tax revenue (transfer tax, property tax, sales
tax, etc.) to support the services we care about most in Alameda, such as our public
schools and our public safety (police and fire).
I supported existing Alameda businesses and promoted business retention in
Alameda through the work of the EDC’s Business Retention Subcommittee. Formed in
March 2009 to help “support and maintain our current commercial and retail businesses
in Alameda,” the Subcommittee reached out to the local business community to solicit
perspectives about measures to retain and support the City’s current commercial and
retail businesses. The Subcommittee held three Community Forums as well as invited
local business owners and representatives to complete an on-line Business Retention and
Support survey posted on the City’s website. This short, anonymous survey was intended
to identify how the City may best serve the local business community during the current
economic recession. Finally, the Subcommittee members also individually received
comments in personal conversations with local business representatives. The
Subcommittee then made a series of recommendations to the City Council regarding how
best to support the City’s local businesses, including by streamlining and rendering more
efficient the City’s regulatory functions, such as the permitting process. These
recommendations including many of the following, for which I would advocate as a
member of the Alameda City Council.
As a City Councilmember, I will advocate for improved customer service and
facilitation for businesses within the City’s Planning and Building Department,
particularly for new business improvements and business expansions. In particular, the
City should bolster staff training within the City’s Planning and Building Department to
provide and maintain consistent code enforcement from application through inspection.
The City should also allow small project applicants the option to pay additional fees if
they would like to be assigned a specific team member to follow them through the entire
process, just as that option is available for larger development projects. And the City
should support the continuation of the Customer Service Improvement (CSI) Team
and/or appoint a citizen volunteer ombudsman to monitor the City’s planning and
building regulatory functions.
As a City Councilmember, I will advocate to continue, and attempt to expand, the
City’s façade grant program, which has been used successfully for many Alameda
businesses and can and should be used for many others.
As a City Councilmember, I will support Alameda Municipal Power’s
continuation of the Economic Development Incentive Discount program and encourage
AMP to accommodate extending the discount to new or expanding tenants that do not
occupy an entire building. Utility costs can be a significant factor in business success, so
this is a very important program to continue and even expand. Accommodations should
include steps such as sub-metering, and to the extent AMP is concerned about landlords
not passing on savings in a form AMP finds acceptable, suggesting standard lease
language that will address these concerns. I would also support AMP's strengthening of
its web site description of the discount program for a business attraction audience.
As a City Councilmember, I will compare City fees with other local cities and
make sure that Alameda’s fees do not include any inappropriately high outliers.
As a City Councilmember, I will ask the City to revise and update the information
on the City s website with new links to business resources that can assist Alameda’s
business community, such as the façade grant program, enrollment at schools, and
AMP’s commercial programs.
As a City Councilmember, I will ask that the City work more with local business
associations and regional organizations to co-sponsor business workshops. Such City-
sponsored workshops could include: networking with other businesses, navigating the
City permitting process, small business financing/SBA loans, marketing/joint marketing
with other businesses, marketing specifically to Alameda residents, etc.
As a City Councilmember, I will work closely and collaboratively with the
business community to determine how they can help keep our schools strong and how
they can participate in a school parcel tax in a way that will help support our schools and
support their businesses.
As a City Councilmember, I will work to ensure that our business community is
getting adequate attention from the Alameda Police Department so that their property and
personnel are safe and secure.
As a Councilmember, I will also ensure that our City has a robust business
attraction plan. I promoted business attraction in Alameda through the work of the
EDC’s Business Attraction Subcommittee. Formed in March 2009 to "help formulate a
set of recommendations for recruiting new businesses to Alameda," the subcommittee
recommended to the City Council methods for how the City can help attract businesses to
Alameda, including the use of a low-cost web strategy targeting specific types of
businesses/industries that have high potential, using proactive online recruitment
strategies, and improving customer service and providing an enhanced business-friendly
environment in Alameda for new and existing businesses. The Subcommittee’s
recommendations were accepted by the City Council on February 16, 2010.
As a City Councilmember, I will continue the City’s efforts to recruit businesses
through the East Bay Economic Development Alliance, city business brokers, and private
partners who attract businesses to Alameda. But the City needs to do more.
I will advocate for the development of a website with detailed economic
development information for the city that includes space available in real time, as well as
the other types of key information for a business attraction audience.
I will also advocate for the sound and efficient use of financial incentives to
attract to Alameda high-quality businesses that are good for our community, such as the
incentives that were used to help attract VF Outdoor to Alameda. Through additional
recruitment and implementation of the business attraction strategies set forth above, we
can continue to build on this success in Alameda.
Questions have been raised about whether the city is transparent enough in
conducting its business. Do you think this is an issue and if so, what do you see as
being specific problems and how would you seek to resolve them?
Yes, I believe that the City should be more effective in creating transparency and
I would take a number of concrete steps to encourage citizen participation in my
decision-making process.
Appropriate public process is critical to good government. This includes proper
public notice, a real opportunity for adequate public input and discussion, transparency,
and accountability.
I support, and will continue to support, open, transparent, and accountable
government. I am very familiar with openness, transparency, and accountability from my
work on the Alameda Hospital Board, Alameda’s Economic Development Commission,
Alameda’s Social Service Human Relations Board, and my role as a Deputy City
Attorney at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. I am accustomed to a culture of
openness, transparency, accountability, and sunshine and will promote it as a
Councilperson. The City’s role is to serve the public. The City government is the
people’s government. Therefore, City leaders must be accountable to the voters.
As a City Councilperson, through direction, oversight, and accountability, I will
work to ensure that staff provides full compliance with both the letter and the spirit of all
laws and guidelines regarding open, transparent, and accountable government.
I have promoted open, transparent, and accountable government in the past. I was
instrumental in ensuring that the City of Alameda Health Care District followed a more
open and inclusive process for its regular meetings. I spearheaded the effort to film
meetings and make the videos available to members of the public on the internet. I also
worked to ensure that all meeting agendas were posted and available well in advance of
meetings.
As a City Councilperson, I will make myself accountable to the voters who elect
me by holding regular community meetings. At these meetings, voters can directly
participate in holding me accountable as they will have the opportunity to ask questions
and hear from me in person. And, perhaps more importantly, I will have an opportunity
to hear from them. In addition, I will make myself available to voters through email and
telephone.
I will also work affirmatively to reach out to voters on topics of interest to them.
By building an email list and having subscribers indicate subject matters of interest (e.g.
Alameda Point, economic development, youth services, etc.), I can reach out to these
Alameda residents when relevant items of interest are on the City Council agenda, solicit
their input, and encourage their participation.
I would also propose reconsideration of City Council meeting times so that they
do not regularly run so late into the evening and into the next day’s early morning. Late
night meetings with critical decisions on important City business occurring after midnight
when public participation is likely to be at a minimum is far from optimal from a public
process and public accountability perspective.
Pensions and retiree health benefits will be a huge financial issue for the city. How
would you address it?
Working effectively and collaboratively with our labor unions to secure
Alameda’s financial future will be critical and is something I have demonstrated I have
the ability to do. Recently, while I served as a Director at Alameda Hospital, in an
atmosphere of trust and mutual respect, the Hospital was able to negotiate fair contracts
with its labor unions that also planned for Alameda Hospital’s future. For example, the
membership of the California Nurses' Association (CNA) unanimously ratified a contract
that contributed significantly to the financial health of the Hospital. In addition, Hospital
management was asked, and agreed, to give salary reductions to help prepare for the
future. I will employ this same respectful, trustworthy, and effective approach in
working with the City’s labor unions to secure Alameda’s future. Our city employees
want what we all want—a thriving, healthy City—and they are willing to contribute
appropriately to ensure that outcome. But, recently, the City has not been able to bargain
successfully with its labor unions. I will continue to work with labor effectively, with an
open mind and an open ear and in a spirit of mutual trust and respect, so that together we
can face the significant challenges our City faces.
Would you seek to preserve Measure A or amend it and if you’d amend it, under
what circumstances would you do so?
Measure A is contained in our City Charter. Its meaning to our City is analogous
to the U.S. Constitution’s meaning to our country. As such, only a vote of the people of
Alameda can amend Measure A. So, unless and until such a vote of the people occurs,
Measure A cannot be amended.
I have seen the critical role that Measure A has played in preserving the fabric and
character of our City. I have seen beautiful Victorians next to unattractive, chopped-up
apartments. Measure A was instrumental in preventing this from continuing. And
Measure A has ongoing meaning and significance in preserving the character of our City.
However, as a City a leader, I will not be afraid to discuss the application of
Measure A at Alameda Point or, for example, on Webster Street. I will facilitate and
promote a robust and healthy discussion regarding Measure A and will solicit input from
a wide variety of perspectives. In the course of this dialogue, different views regarding
the benefits and drawbacks of Measure A’s application to these areas will be shared and
the best ideas will rise to the top. Through this dialogue we as a community will decide
collectively what is best for our City in these discrete areas.
In the end, I have a great deal of respect for the will of the voters and would honor
their decision.
How are you financing your campaign and to whom are you reaching out for
money?
I have currently raised over $40,000 for the City Council race and I am close to
completing my fundraising. I am proud and honored that my campaign’s financial
support comes from a broad range of individuals and community members, many of
whom have known me for years, including neighbors, community leaders, colleagues,
friends, and family.
As reflected in my campaign financial disclosure statement that accounts for
every dollar of campaign contributions I have received through June 30, I have made a
commitment not to accept any campaign donations from any developer. You won’t find
a single campaign contribution dollar from any developer. Nor will you ever.
With individuals including family, friends, and colleagues making donations to
my campaign, I am clearly not beholden to any special interest. Given my position, I will
pursue the only guiding principle that would govern my work on the City Council:
Doing what's best for the City of Alameda and all of its residents, such as our seniors, our
working families, our young people, our business community, and all of the other
residents of our great City.
Based on the candidates' financial reports through June 30 (of which mine was the
most thorough, complete, and transparent), I have raised more money from within
Alameda than any other candidate for City Council. And I have the greatest number of
donations from within Alameda of any candidate. The vast majority of my campaign
donations are from Alameda and the Greater Bay Area. And I am proud to say that my
campaign appears to have the most volunteer support from within Alameda of any City
Council campaign-- precinct walkers, phonebankers, people hosting house parties,
envelope stuffers, etc.