Candidates kick off city election campaign Candidates kick off city election campaign (September 03, 2004)

First race in years with no incumbents seeking re-election
by Jeb Bing

In their opening volleys of the 2004 municipal election campaign, candidates for Pleasanton mayor and City Council posts called for more affordable housing for seniors, young families and the workforce, while also vowing to tackle traffic congestion.

Speaking at what has become the traditional start of the local election debates, the candidates presented their views and answered questions at the seventh Biennial Candidates' Forum sponsored by the Livermore-Amador Valley branch of the League of Women Voters. The group faced a packed meeting room at the Pleasanton Gardens senior housing facility.

All six candidates participated in the kickoff campaign debate: Kay Ayala, Jennifer Hosterman and Gabe Kralik, who are running for mayor, and Cindy McGovern, Matt Sullivan and Jerry Thorne, who are seeking election to the two seats to be filled in the Nov. 2 election for City Council. Mayor Tom Pico and Councilman Matt Campbell are not seeking re-election. Ayala, who is completing her eighth year and second term as councilwoman cannot seek re-election to that post because of term limits. Hosterman, who is completing the second year of her four-year first term of office on the council, would continue serving if she lost the race for mayor. If she wins, the seat would be filled in a special election.

Ayala, who cited her eight years of council experience and record of voting favorably on senior and affordable housing projects, also said voters who cast their ballots for her as mayor could keep two of the candidates on the council.

"If I'm elected, you would still get Jennifer Hosterman because she is completing her first term and will stay on the council," Ayala quipped. "She is running for what we call a 'safe' seat, so it's a two-for-one offer."

Hosterman called the campaign comment "clever," and then went on to outline her credentials for mayor. She said she has the endorsement of Mayor Pico, and that she is already serving on regional boards and committees where she could have greater influence as Pleasanton's mayor.

"As a downtown business owner, I know the needs of the business community," Hosterman said. "As a past Girl Scout leader, I know the importance of creating a community where families come first. And as a member of the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency and other regional groups, I can gain support on issues that affect our region. I will work to form a voting block among city mayors and the county of Alameda to gain the strongest voice possible to solve problems affecting Pleasanton, such as congestion on our freeways."

Kralik, a corporate patent attorney in Sunnyvale, said he is seeking the mayor's post "to bring new energy and a fresh perspective to the issues that face Pleasanton."

He talked about walking through the city this summer to meet with merchants, shoppers, police and fire personnel, school children and their parents, and even students home from college. He said:

"I found that police and emergency personnel want to know if the city will provide the resources to meet new threats to our security. Our senior advocates wanted to know if the city would give greater priority to building affordable housing and assisted care facilities. Our business leaders wanted to know if the city will be a friendlier partner and offer incentives to small and large businesses to bring more stable jobs to Pleasanton. Our neighborhood residents wanted to know if the city will ever communicate the specifics of the General Plan (now being updated) and follow a fair process so that all residents have a voice."

Council candidates stressed their background in civic and city affairs.

Sullivan, a member of the Planning Commission since 1998 and currently chairman of the Pleasanton Energy Committee, said he became involved in city politics 10 years ago with a neighborhood group that opposed building the West Las Positas interchange at I-680. He also said that in his current work on the General Plan update, he hopes to gain approval of affordable housing sites in Hacienda Business Park and on the county-owned Staples Ranch east of the city limits.

"With 26,000 homes already built or approved, and a voter-approved 29,000-unit housing cap that I am committed to, there's not a lot of room left," Sullivan said. "So we must be proactive in telling the development community what we want to see."

McGovern, citing her 10 years on the Pleasanton school board, said she has been involved in community work since moving to Pleasanton 30 years ago. She chaired the Youth Master Plan subcommittee that developed the city's master plan for youth, and she now heads the Youth Master Plan Implementation Committee. She won the Mayor's Community Service Award in 2002 for her civic contributions.

"My passion is to develop places for seniors where they can stay together as couples and with friends in Pleasanton as they go from independent living to assisted living and even into skilled nursing care facilities," McGovern said. "I will do everything I can to help seniors stay in their homes and be as independent as possible."

Thorne called the upcoming municipal election "one of the most important ever for Pleasanton."

"The reasons are self-evident when you look at the candidates," he said. "We have no incumbents in this race; there's nobody running for the same office that they've got now. So you could have at least three new people on the City Council. It also means that elections in the future are going to be dominated by incumbents."

A member of the city's Parks and Recreation Commission for the last 10 years, where he has served as chairman twice, Thorne led a citizens' effort to successfully earmark a 40-50 acre site in the public Bernal property for sports fields. A former president of the Pleasanton Seahawks swim team, he also led the effort to build the Olympic sized pool at Pleasanton's Dolores Bengtson Aquatic Center.

"I've had 26 years as a senior manager at a Fortune 100 company and am now retired," Thorne said. "I understand the challenges facing our city and can handle them."

The Pleasanton Gardens forum was videotaped by Comcast for showing on Channel 26 throughout the coming weeks.

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