Alamedans.com City Council Questionnaire Pt. 3
Next week, we’ll be printing the responses of candidates for the Board of Education, but toady, the third question in our ongoing city council candidate questionnaire.
Today’s City Council Question:
Incumbents, why do you feel you should be re-elected, what are your top accomplishments of the past four years? Challengers, why do you feel one or both of the incumbents should be replaced?
Marie Gilmore:
I have served our City as Councilmember for five years. During that time, exciting changes have taken place in our community. We have a new state of the art public library and completed the restoration of the historic Alameda Theatre, thus allowing residents to go to the movies locally for the first time in over twenty-five years. Park Street and Webster Street have significantly enhanced their streetscapes, attracting new businesses, including restaurants, to the retail mix. Alameda Towne Center has received a significant facelift, bringing in new tenants such as Bed, Bath & Beyond and Borders Bookstore.
At the same time, we still face challenges. Growing our tax base, the need for open space, the redevelopment of Alameda Point and traffic congestion are critical issues that must be addressed if Alameda is to thrive without sacrificing the culture and atmosphere that makes this community so special. As your Councilmember, I will continue to provide leadership that focuses on creative and thoughtful ways to allow us to benefit from our opportunities during this difficult economic time.
Doug deHaan:
As your Councilmember for the past four years, the council has had numerous accomplishments to be proud of such as the renovation of: Park and Webster Streets, Bridgeside, Towne Centre, Alameda Theater, Summer Homes (Harbor Bay Island Apartments) and further development of the Harbor Bay Business Park, and the construction of the new Main Library.
Our Planning Department’s Climate Protection Task Force was recently recognized for the completion of Alameda’s award-wining Local Action Plan for Climate Protection. This will set the future benchmark for Alameda’s Environmental Sustainability. A newly formed Blue Ribbon Fiscal Sustainability Task Group has as been established. The group is made up of local citizens who are professional experts in their field. This Task Group will review all aspects of the city’s budget in order to evaluate current and future budgets needs.
The Alameda Theater Complex has been very successful in the economic rejuvenation of the downtown Park Street district. This is exactly what our Economic Development Commission (EDC) and City Council envisioned. People seem to be unaware that I both served on and chaired the Economic Development Commission (EDC) for 8 years. The vast majority of the above listed redevelopment projects were conceived during this time. One of which was the Theater/Cineplex and Parking project(s). In1999, while serving on the EDC, we conducted a Downtown Visioning Plan for Park Street, which addressed the renovation of the historic Alameda Theater and supporting projects. The direct outgrowth of that visioning process was the historical Theater/Cineplex and parking structure proposal(s). As chairman of the EDC, I personally lead the EDC (over a two-year period) in developing our final recommendations. I strongly supported EDC’s recommendations that were forwarded to the Planning Board and City Council for action. Once the recommendations were forwarded, many of the conceptual elements of the Theater/Cineplex/Parking Complex were finalized in closed sessions before the public had a chance to review and/or comment on the EDC’s original recommendations of parking locations and Cineplex requirements. I was not a councilmember during this period of time. The initial cost for this project had been estimated to be $16 million, and ballooned to a final cost of $32 million, excluding $3 million for preliminary development costs. The council had to apply for a $7 million Housing and Urban Development loan and reallocate redevelopment funds to make it a viable project. As a councilmember, I personally took strong exception to the high cost and the design and size/mass of the overall project. This project could have easily still been successful at a substantially lower cost.
My challenge is to continue to meet quality of life needs for the residents of Alameda, without compromising needs for present or future generations (fiscal and environmental sustainability). Alameda continues to be engaged in large development/redevelopment opportunities. I ask for your vote once again to continue my work to serve you. I will provide the leadership required to offer every Alamedan an equal voice in maintaining Alameda’s quality of life as we continue to build upon our future.
Tracy Jensen:
I am not running for the city Council to replace either of the incumbents. Rather, I am running to offer a choice to voters, to share my experience, communication skills and commitment in order to move Alameda forward if I am elected.
Both incumbents have strong constituencies and specific views about how our city should move forward. One of the incumbents felt that they could be more effective as Mayor and worked hard to be elected to that position 2 years ago. After 10 years of public service as an appointee to Alameda boards and commissions the other incumbent was appointed to serve out an unexpired Council term. Both incumbents have years of civic experience, like me, primarily as the appointed representatives on city boards and commissions. Both of the incumbents have been elected once to their seat by Alameda voters – and I have been elected twice to the School Board.
Neither of the incumbents has the breadth of experience that I do in all levels of government. I bring a skill set that could complement the current council if I am elected. I am the only candidate with experience budgeting at the city level – as a manager for the city of Oakland I am responsible for 15 staff and a budget of $2 million dollars. In fact, while the other candidates and I share similar civic and elected experience, I also bring nearly 20 years of experience in local, state and federal government – I have made the critical government fiscal and policy decisions.
Finally, while I am not running to replace the incumbents, I am running because I believe that the City Council is lacking an advocate for families. Neither of the incumbents – in fact, none of the current council members, have children in school on the Island. I grew up in Alameda, and I have a 7 year old son in public school and in the APRD afterschool program. Whatever I happened to be doing as a child – going to school, playing in the parks, shopping at Alameda Towne Center (South Shore back then) – I always felt safe in the streets. This is the primary reasons that I am running for City Council. I’m running because I understand what families need and I am committed to making Alameda a place where families will thrive.
Justin Harrison:
[Did not answer the question]
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