October 14, 2004

ABA holds its first political forum

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

Candidates running for San Jose City Council and State Assembly participated in the first Almaden Business Association [ABA] political forum Oct. 7 at the Fish Market Restaurant on Blossom Hill Road.

Coordinated by Tabard Theatre’s Cathy Spielberger Cassetta, the forum was designed to provide business community members with direct access to candidates, while Costco and Charlie’s Cheesecake Works provided refreshments for early risers.

Rich De La Rosa and Nancy Pyle square off in pursuit of votes—and a seat on the City Council.

ABA President Doug Keller moderated the mostly Q & A format that allowed members to gauge how each candidate’s views compared to their own. While Rich De La Rosa and Nancy Pyle squared off for the District 10 City Council seat, Steve Poizner made a solo bid for District 21 State Assembly—his opponent, Ira Ruskin declined to attend.

Public safety, jobs, education, and bureaucracy took center stage, as De La Rosa and Pyle spelled out their plans at the local level, and Poizner vowed to strike equally as hard in Sacramento.

City Council
Much of the focus fell on City Hall procedures, including the roles and responsibilities of elected officials. Both Pyle and De La Rosa agreed that the “process” needs to change and, after the controversial Coyote Ordinance decision, expressed concerns with council members who seemed to have reached a foregone conclusion prior to the meeting.

“I got the sense that was the case with the coyote issue,” said Pyle. “That’s very disturbing to me and needs to be reined in very tightly.”

“I’ve never liked the process,” added De La Rosa. “They don’t take into account the public outcry and I have a problem with folks getting cut off when their two minutes are up, especially when there’s no rebuttal to council comments.”

Incidentally, both favored the ordinance, citing public safety as paramount over animal rights, although Pyle edged back to the fence to caution residents on their responsibilities for implementing preventative measures.

In light of a city “fact-finding” trip to San Antonio, concerns of a potential Brown Act violation found City Attorney Rick Doyle warning the council of a six-member quorum. Chavez ultimately opted out, giving Cortese the green light, but not before causing a stir. Both candidates cautioned city officials to stay within the open meeting guidelines. However, De La Rosa, who said he’d called them on violations in the past, cited issues with compliance.

“The Brown Act is near and dear to my heart, but it has no teeth,” he said.

Requests for opinions on privatizing city services found De La Rosa citing the increased job and contract benefits for local businesses, and a propensity towards better quality work.

“Sometimes private companies do a better job,” he explained. “Highway 87 wasn’t privatized and 85 was. We haven’t had nearly the problems with 85 than with 87.”

However, the recent $11 million trash contract debacle led to suspicions of closed-door deals, and Pyle stressed the need for stricter guidelines first.

“I would have every single facet spelled out—with no chance of coming back later for more money,” she said.
Although many felt they were pretty much on the same page, De La Rosa placed public safety and job diversity at the top of his list, while Pyle said she had a firm foot in education and would rally for senior assistance. They may agree on many other fronts, but drew the line at who should get the seat.

A solo State Assembly pitch
He’s knocked on more than 10,000 doors from Almaden Valley to San Carlos to reach nearly 40,000 voters. He apologized for talking too fast—alluding that precinct walking was akin to being a Fuller Brush salesman, “where you have to get your pitch out very quickly or the door may slam in your face.” He joked about the inherent dangers of a campaign that resulted in his first dog bite. And then he got serious.

State Assembly candidate Steve Poizner defined his political positions, assessments, and ambitions in an effort to lure members to his camp and stated that his decision to run for office was fueled by overall anger and frustration with career politicians in Sacramento.

“People are angry,” he said. “But it didn’t end at the recall. There’s an ongoing feeling that something’s fundamentally wrong and they want change.”

While the economy and education form the base of his platform, Poizner placed much of the blame on the legislature for Silicon Valley’s economic woes.

“This has been the worse economic collapse since the great depression,” he exclaimed. “200,000 jobs are gone and what has the legislature done during this period of economic calamity? They’ve been outright hostile to the business community. We’re in this mess because we chased a big chunk of the tax base out of the state.”

He also faulted the legislature with micromanaging the school system and vowed to work toward shifting control back to the local level “where it belongs.”

“When a school has money to replace the lights in their stadium, but none to fix the restrooms, something’s wrong,” he said. “It’s a big mistake.”

In a perfect world, Poizner said he would recall the entire Legislature. Instead, he said he plans to push for redistricting reform so neither party could carve out the state in order to create “safe seats.”

Although warned of nasty campaigning if the race got close, a recent letter with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s name on it caught Poizner off guard.

“I know Mayor Newsom,” he exclaimed. “My supporters were outraged that he would send a letter about slavery and bigotry. He didn’t know anything about it. It was written and paid for by the California Democratic Party. Unfortunately, my opponent has chosen to use his money for a vicious attack campaign.”

When asked what made him stand out over his opponent, Poizner rattled off his list. He’s called Silicon Valley home for 25 years. He’s independent, open minded, pro-choice, wants to revitalize the two-party system, and contrary to his opponent, hadn’t taken money from special interest groups, political action committees, corporations, or unions.

“I’ll go to Sacramento and I won’t be beholden to anybody,” he said. “I can guarantee you that.”