Q&A Sessions

1. Continuing capricious State control over some City revenues. The City cannot rely on certainty of revenue over which the State retains the power to take away.
2. Expiration of Measure F revenues.
3. Deferred maintenance of our streets putting them into very serious and dangerous condition.

1. Reduction of top management salaries.
2. Transition to "paperless" information using existing computer infrastructure.
3. Staff reduction only by attrition when possible and appropriate re-organizations to compensate for work overloads.
4. Freeze purchase of big-ticket items until revenues increase and, where necessary, purchase of low cost items. For example, purchase of SUVs for the Police Department in this time of budget shortfalls should never happen.

1. Develop a consensus proposal for an increase in the TOT for general fund use to the coastal citys average.
2. A parcel tax specifically for street repair and annual street maintenance. Once passed, this revenue can be used to bond for our needed street repairs and we can fix our streets now.

1. To review, modify, and approve the annual budget.
2. To perform oversight of the staff budget process including a watchdog function over specific spending.
3. To determine how other similar cities have dealt with particular budget issues.
4. To participate with community members in budget reviews, exploration, and advocacy.
5. To bring budget suggestions made by community members to the full Council for consideration.
6. To seek out innovative budget approaches for both revenue enhancement and cost reduction.

Yes, I would increase the percentage dramatically, by at least 10% over current levels. People who work in Santa Cruz should be able to live here too.

The City should set a goal of at least 50 VLI units; however, it will require one or more specific projects to accomplish that.

In general, 25% of any City subsidized housing should include units for VLI occupants. Recent developments included 40% affordable units and that should be a goal in new projects.

There should be a mix of different size units to accommodate families as well as single occupant tenants.

• Public works contracts must be closely monitored for compliance with prevailing wage, local hire, and apprenticeship requirements.
• Job preservation must be a top priority.
• Workers must be protected from speedup, expectations that they will do double duty as a result of staff reductions.
• We must protect current benefits and avoid passing increased costs on to employees.
• Replacement of City workers by contracting out must be avoided.

• Labor has a role on all City commissions and advisory bodies.
• In particular, labor should have a role on the Planning, Transportation, the Public Works, Parks and Rec, Water, the Living Wage Advisory Committee, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Committee.

• I will do outreach to labor organizations seeking to assure that labor representatives make application for open positions.
• As one Councilmember, I will seek at least two other Councilmembers to advocate for particular labor appointments.
• A labor representative should apply for the current opening on EEOC

• I spent the last two years working on changes and improvements to these ordinances and obtained significant input from trade union representatives. These changes were recently approved and now there must be monitoring for compliance.
• Stronger reporting requirements need to be included within all City contracts.

• I will definitely support a City measure to enact a more meaningful minimum wage within the City.
• I support such a measure because Santa Cruz has an unpleasant tradition of paying very low wages. This needs to be rectified.

1. Reduction of top management salaries.
2. Staff reduction only by attrition when possible and appropriate re-organizations to compensate for work overloads.
3. Freeze on purchase of big-ticket items until revenues increases and, where necessary, purchase of low cost items. For example, purchase of SUVs for the Police Department in this time of budget shortfalls should never happen.

• I recommend a no vote on this particular measure because the RTC has betrayed our community in the manner in which they constructed this measure.
• My position on this matter is public and people may quote me as they wish.
• Before highway widening is commenced, proven low cost measures such as metering lights need to be installed. Metering lights work VERY effectively in most major cities.
• The widening project as proposed is an inflated one. Casual observation of the existing paved roadway and shoulder indicates that there is room for additional lanes over much of the seven-mile distance. To encumber around a half BILLION dollars of our transportation money for unnecessary construction is not a wise practice in times of budget scarcity.
• This RTC has failed to earmark Prop 116 money for rail right of way acquisition when that is a highly popular transportation project in our community. This is a complete and manipulative betrayal.

The City and the University must immediately begin to select a preferred design for a people mover from the Harvey West Park area up to campus. That people mover should be planned to absorb all University “growth” trips and also divert about 5% of existing auto SOV trips per year.

Yes, Permit parking helps residents avoid having the parking in front of their homes be occupied by commuters.

• Public transportation gives everyone access to their community.
• We need to keep public transportation available and affordable.
• Routes need to be increased and not cut so that all areas are covered.
• I am a less than frequent bus rider.

• It’s important to assure a balance of affordable housing and jobs so that commuter travel is minimized.
• City government can enact programs to reduce the necessity of commuting and increase the number of local resident workers.
• A Large percentage of commuter population hurts a community both environmentally and economically.
• People who live in bedroom communities require services but very often do not expend their money in that community to support it.
• Large populations of commuters are not sustainable in the long run.

• Yes, I support absolute equality for all people regarding the right to marry.
• I supported Council resolutions stating this position and will continue to do so.

Providing complete equity for all people is my career and my passion. I do this day-in and day-out in my occupation teaching at Santa Cruz High School. This is fundamental in my daily work with young people. For over 25 years at Santa Cruz High School alone and at several other teaching assignments before that, I have been dedicated to making sure that all students regardless of race, color, creed, sexual orientation, or religious belief have the same opportunities and the vision that they can succeed as well as anyone else. I have worked in programs to empower communities that are out of power, and to assure safety for all of our population. This is a big reason why I am on the City’s City schools committee.

I support such voting. Parents who have students in our schools should be able to vote in the school board election.

I support the California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000. As a Councilmember and also as a teacher I am in a unique position to further its implementation at teacher meetings, planning conferences, City Schools Committee meetings and in actual practice in the

Yes

The Cities Public Safety Committee needs to adopt a policy to disallow practices of racial profiling and make sure it is integrated into police procedures.

I would use my position to insure that we promote HIV education and prevention in a scientific and responsible way and not to promote a moral agenda that might emphasize abstinence. For example, I found mention of "Support Abstinence Via Education." This approach lacks a scientific approach that is so necessary if HIV spread is to be lessened.

• We need to support small business in every way we can. Small businesses supply the jobs and the City revenue in our community.
• We need to be supportive of the partnerships with the educational sector of the community and promote business incubators and opportunity for those businesses to grow into permanent facilities in our industrially zoned lands.

• Development must be accountable for its long-term impact on our community in terms of sustainability, environmental quality, and economic justice.
• Whether or not a development creates good jobs as well as revenues is a pivotal question in considering approval.
• A development should have a high degree of likelihood of longevity.
• A new development should not displace other businesses and jobs.

• High Tech and light industrial businesses have been good to Santa Cruz.
• Green business is not only a good opportunity, it’s also a good match for our community philosophy.

• The RDA should create economic opportunities when private business could not otherwise do so.
• The RDA should support small businesses
• The RDA should support the improvement of neighborhoods and the removal of blight.
• RDA projects should include significant housing opportunities such as at Nueva Vista and Gault Street Senior Housing. It can be a good partner in such circumstances.

• The La Bahia plans are not currently in the spotlight and their approved project may be "on hold."
• The current focus of attention is on the proposal for the Coast Hotel expansion into a convention center. I can be supportive of this project if it is able to meet community and environmental needs.

Yes, I support this approach and believe that all of the costs of a development must be considered before approving any project.

Yes I would support mandatory limits and I have agreed to limit my spending and fundraising to the City voluntary limit.

• I think the City Council should play a stronger role in City affairs. My experience in reading and understanding the budget puts me in a better position to insist on meaningful budget amendments that help our City.
• I am looking at Charter amendments that will improve the power of City residents to make decisions about their City.

• Virtually all of our appointments are now made by majority vote of the Council. I am interested in a strong recruiting program to assure that good people are appointed.
• Our advisory bodies need to be restored to their meeting schedules that existed prior to budget cuts. Reduction of community participation has been a counter-productive budget cutting measure.

• While I had misgivings about eliminating the CPRB, I choose to put my energy into insisting that there would be a replacement of that body in the form of the Council Public Safety Committee. I was successful in that effort. I have attended all meetings of that body except one and have participated outside those meetings with our Auditor, Robert Arronsen.
• I strongly believe that residents should play a participatory role in determining police policy and in evaluating problems. The role of this city’s residents in setting police policy should be significant.

• I recruit people to work on issues.
• I convene groups in ad-hoc fashion to consider needed programs and measures and follow through with their ultimate participation at Council meetings and ongoing activities.

I am prepared to hold meetings on the Sunday evening before each council meeting.

• It is a community decision whether or not to proceed with plans for a desalinization plant after the EIR has been completed and mitigations identified.
• The building of a desalinization plant has become a primary option because all the other options proved to be less favorable at least at the present time.
• We need to be attentive to the design factors to minimize entrapment and entrainment and also assure that our consumption does not cause any imbalance in the bay.
• Use of such a facility must be ONLY for drought needs as advertised and NOT be a major growth inducement in the City.

• There are currently significant water losses that can be stopped with the current upgrade program.
• The runoff of irrigation water continues to waste significant amounts of water. We need to stop such waste.

• I strongly support the effort to create a Joint Powers Authority with the Soquel Creek Water District.
• Agreements need to be negotiated to obtain mutual satisfaction between the parties regarding the use of Santa Cruz Belts wells.