Planning Commissioner Arkin files for council Planning Commissioner Arkin files for council (February 18, 2005)

He opposes extending Stoneridge Drive, building freeway interchange
by Jeb Bing

Brain Arkin, a member of the Pleasanton Planning Commission since 1999, has announced that he will seek election to the open seat on the City Council in the special election scheduled for June 7.

Arkin was chairman of the Planning Commission in 2003 and is the vice-chairman today.

He is the third announced candidate for the council vacancy, which was created when Councilwoman Jennifer Hosterman was elected mayor last November. The others are Jerry Thorne, 60, who was unsuccessful in his council bid last year, and Dan Faustina, 26, a newcomer to city politics. Mary Roberts, also a planning commissioner and mentioned as a possible council candidate, said she had decided to stay out of this year's race, although she might reconsider in 2006.

Dawn Abrahamson, City Clerk, said filing papers for the election were available Monday and candidates must return them by 5 p.m., Friday, March 11, to be on the June 7 ballot. The special election will cost taxpayers about $160,000.

Arkin, who is 44, said he first became involved in local politics 10 years ago by opposing a 2,500 housing unit project on the 520-acre Bernal property proposed by the city of San Francisco, which owned the land. Later, after a deal was struck between developers, San Francisco and the city of Pleasanton to allow the construction of 581 homes and apartments, Arkin joined the effort to gain voter approval of Measure V, an initiative that prohibited any further residential development there.

Arkin and his wife Valerie live on Newton Way with their three children: Chris, 13, Angela, 10, and Nicholas, 4. He holds a degree in electronic engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and a master's degree in business administration from California Lutheran University. The director of Hardware Engineering at a semiconductor company in Milpitas, Arkin holds 12 U.S. patents and has published his research.

A strong supporter of creating more lighted sports fields and practice fields, Arkin said, "There is just nowhere near enough space on the existing fields for all of the sports programs in town."

He is also determined to curb traffic congestion as part of his work with the General Plan update now under way.

"We do not need more cut-through traffic routes in the city, which is why I am against the West Las Positas Interchange and the Stoneridge Drive extension projects," Arkin said. "I also oppose large developments on our hillsides and ridges as they scar our community's beautiful surroundings while disturbing sensitive environments with massive grading and tree cutting."

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