Reader questions for the mayoral candidates and responses from Shawn Eldredge Last month, The Bee’s editorial page urged readers to send us questions they wanted submitted to candidates running for Sacramento mayor. We received more than we expected. Although each of you has already filled out numerous questionnaires, we hope you can find the time to respond to these questions posed by voters and other residents. Answers, along with questions, will be published in The Bee’s online forum section prior to the June primary. Please keep each of your answers to a short paragraph, and send them to sleavenworth@sacbee.com by May 20, 2008. Q1: "What is the role of the mayor and the City Council in relation to Sacramento's pre-kindergarten through adult education system? Can you give some specifics on ways the city can involve its education system to help Sacramento's economy prosper?" -- K.C. Y. Greenhaven SE: The role is to encourage parent and private participation / interaction with local educators and assist in grant acquisition opportunities. In the same spirit the city is to bring private business and our youth together in joint ventures. Job fairs, internship programs, parent and child targeted programs, green & bio tech partnership incentives. Q2: "What is your plan to create more affordable housing for lower income people, not just trendy lofts and condos?"-- GB, Curtis Park SE: We need to expand the inclusionary housing ordinance beyond the current growth planning areas and encourage other cities to also implement similar ordinances. We need to continue to work with SHRA and other private entities such as Sacramento Housing Alliance to create more private & corporate partnerships. Q3: "AB 32 (the state's global warming law) requires California to reduce its carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, roughly a 27 percent reduction over current levels. What is your plan to reduce the city of Sacramento's net emissions by that amount by 2020?" -- K.W. M, Jr., Natomas Park SE: Vehicles produce half of global warming causing emissions in the state of California, thus the answer lies in reducing auto emissions. I will encourage more plug-in stations for hybrid vehicles. Provide for more bicycle safe travel. Continue to encourage (fund) transit oriented development & increase funding to public transit connectivity. Q4: "Sacramento Executive Airport is an important part of the Sacramento region's transportation resources. It provides more than 392 jobs and more than $2.1 million in taxes, according to the county airport system. Yet developers and city planners have been eying the airport for possible residential development. What is your vision for Executive Airport? What kind of leadership will you provide regarding its future?"-- L. W. M Jr., Arden Arcade SE: I have friends that use the airport for both recreational flights as well as regular business trips, losing that ability seems to be counter productive to the area and I would like to see the current assets, the airport & golf club, enhanced not eliminated. There are many stakeholders involved and it is critical to all stakeholders to be active participants in the upcoming master plan meetings. Q5: "What city services, currently budgeted, would you outsource to private industry to save money?" -- J.Y. Greenhaven SE: I have not found any departments that I feel would be better off privatized; possibly the tree services division, which was recently move over to the Department of Transportation. Q6: "What do you plan to do about the homeless population -- in particular, the large encampment under Highway 160 and unsafe conditions in the west end of the American River Parkway? Would you consider forcing Loaves and Fishes to relocate? -- L. G. South Natomas SE: I wouldn’t force loaves and fishes to do anything. I would like to see the services moved further from neighborhoods. I do support the 10 Year Homeless plan and support some tax dollars funding it. I also believe that the homeless like us all, cannot break the law. Q7: "I know the city has an economic development department. What are they doing to bring employers to this city? What are they doing to encourage small business -- already doing business in the city -- to grow?" -- D.B. Cabrillo Park SE: They need to do more. Small business owners are the backbone of our country and city. Each council person should be working with the commercial property owners in their districts to assist them in getting business owners in and keeping them healthy. The Economic Development Department has to lead our city into new industries and partner with the Convention & Visitors Bureau to bring more events to our city, breeding a fresh and healthy business environment. Q8: "With the proposed construction of roughly 20,000 housing units in the downtown and midtown areas, where are the children of these new residents supposed to go to high school? High schools near the former Sacramento High School are already at or above capacity. How would you address this problem? -- S.S., east Sacramento SE: New developments pay a schools fee. In the 30’s & 40’s when people lived downtown there were inner city transit systems (rail cars) schools, hardware stores, and more. We are heading back there quickly. I will be a strong advocate for the return of quality inner city schools. Q9: "When is the last time you took public transit for an errand, or to get to work? What is your vision for improving public transit in the Sacramento area?" -- P. M. Curtis Park SE: I took transit last month (to walk precincts). As far as the south line I took to Meadowview, I would create more stops and make some of them more convenient. As far as transit, there is more to talk about then there is space to respond. It is crucial to our environmental & economic health. Q10: "Do you favor extending the city's mixed income (inclusionary) zoning ordinance citywide? How can the city assure housing for moderate and low-income people as expensive condos go up?" -- K.K. Midtown SE: Yes, I do favor expanding the inclusionary housing ordinance beyond the current growth areas providing housing for low & moderate level income families. I believe it is the cities duty to house all its working class, seniors and youth. Q11: "I am a resident of Oak Park and am active in the community. How would candidates approach other areas of the city with similar issues that don't have the grass-roots support of groups such as The Oak Park Neighborhood Association?" -- J.B. Oak Park SE: Active residents are what this country was built on. As a fellow community activist I encourage all members of the community to be engaged. The city already encourages and assists neighbors in establishing Neighborhood & Business Associations. I will continue to promote the planning and management academies, as well as continue the empowerment of community members. Q12: "How would the new mayor resolve the negotiations to bring a new arena to Sacramento? Is the NBA making any substantial campaign contributions to any of the candidates to gain influence and to get a better deal for the NBA?" -- E.G. Land Park SE: Concerning the arena issue, my priorities as mayor would be to work on improving our relationship with the Maloof family and the NBA and to bring clarity to the taxpaying citizens regarding negotiations and on-going progress in getting the arena built with the voters best interest in mind. Q13: "What will be your approach to the recent article in The Bee on prostitution arrests? Will you set policies that fairly deal with the prostitute and the customer?"-- S.M, Citrus Heights SE: Fairly deal with the criminals? Both parties are breaking the law and need to be prosecuted. I believe there are parts of Nevada where prostitution is legal. :-) Q14: "C.C. Myers showcases the importance of incentives. Would you support basing city employee pay on performance or productivity even if this entailed some workers within the same classification making significantly less than others?" -- J.I., South Land Park SE: I would love to. I don’t know if it is possible but I will definitely look into it. As an employer, I believe high levels of performance should always be rewarded. Questions published on April 21, 2008 Q15: "What is your definition of sustainable communities? How, as mayor, would you collaborate with surrounding mamunicipalities on policies to manage smart growth, protect natural resources and create a sustainable economy?" -- B.S., Old Sacramento SE: A sustainable community to me means one where those who live there can ride transit or walk to: work, grocery, hardware stores, schools, etc. It also means that all income levels have a place to live they can afford. I am a proponent of transit oriented development and would give incentives to those who build using smart growth principals and raising fees on those who do not. Q16: "Westfield has consistently held that it cannot attract high-end retailers to Downtown Plaza because the market lacks the necessary income demographics. Yet the city has continued to direct scarce redevelopment dollars to subsidies for retail projects along K Street. What are the merits of subsidizing retail vs. housing as a strategy to revitalize a retail corridor? -- M. C. W., Oak Park SE: I believe the secret to K Street lies in building housing on K. I always refer to the pictures of K Street back in the 30’s & 40’s. There were trolleys and people living right there in the middle of it all. This is where we are headed and the future looks bright for the heart of our city. Q17: Also, what do you think about the current ordinances restricting building heights? In the peak of the boom, some developers walked away from innovative projects because they didn't pencil out." -- M C. W, Oak Park SE: I am a fan of projects that pencil as well as sell or become occupied. A project does the city no good if it can’t get completed or the units don’t rent/ sell. I love the historical nature of our neighborhoods and am thankful to the many active neighbors who participate in our cities planning and preservation departments. I believe there are occasions that a project is worth building no matter the ordinance. Q18: "How important to you is building a new arena for the Kings? How are you going to help facilitate this possible new arena?" -- B. A., East Sacramento SE: I am a huge Kings & Monarchs fan, as well as a fan of live music events. Sacramento deserves a world class venue for them all. I will do all I can to improve our relationship with the Maloofs and encourage private & innovative partnerships without using taxpayers dollars to make it happen. Q19: "What is your stance on marriage equality -- civil marriage for all adult couples regardless of gender? What is your plan to make Sacramento a more environmentally sustainable city?"-- B & K V, Downtown Sacramento SE: I am involved in a domestic partner relationship currently & well understand the legal dynamics and shortcomings of the current laws in place. I applaud the State Supreme Court decision to recognize a couples civil rights. Q20: "I keep seeing the phrase 'career politician' in newspapers and blogs. As a society, we are becoming too content with local officials causing a stagnant political climate, in which it is hard to address malfeasance. A good example is the debacle at the public library. As a candidate, do you believe a mayor should come from the ranks like a civil servant? In addition, would you support term limits for council members and the mayor?" -- R W., Land Park SE: I believe our public servants should come from the public. I believe that "career politicians" are part of the problem with government. Our founding fathers were business men & community activists. That’s where I believe our leaders should come from today. I support term limits. I support term limits. I support term limits. Q21: "Do you support marriage equity for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples? If so, do you support full marriage or 'separate but equal' domestic partnerships?" -- M W, South Land Park SE: I support civil unions regardless of sexual orientation. The legal rights of all couples should be fair and equal. Q22: "The city of Sacramento is the crux of regional auto traffic. Do you support the Broadway bridge over the Sacramento River, another over the American, HOV lanes on Highway 50 into the city and added HOV lanes on Interstate 5 between Natomas and Elk Grove? If not, what alternatives do you offer?" -- A L, Laguna West SE: Until our public transit system actually works we will have to maintain the ability to get to Downtown and job centers by car. Yet, I believe it is obvious we need to get away from the automobile as fast as we can without crippling our economy. I like the idea of greater connectivity with West Sacramento. I don’t think we need another bridge over Hwy 50, has been proven that adding freeway lanes does not help traffic or emissions long term. SE: Until our public transit system actually works we will have to maintain the ability to get to Downtown and job centers by car. Yet, I believe it is obvious we need to get away from the automobile as fast as we can without crippling our economy. I like the idea of greater connectivity with West Sacramento. I don’t think we need another bridge over Hwy 50, has been proven that adding freeway lanes does not help traffic or emissions long term.

Sacramento Bee Opinion Page – Shawn Eldredge’s Responses Pre-interview questionnaire. Please return by Wednesday, April 23. As you know, the Editorial Board of the Sacramento Bee publishes endorsements of candidates for Mayor of Sacramento. We will be calling the candidates to do a face-to-face interview, but would also like all candidates to fill out this questionnaire. Some questions come from editorial board members; others are inspired by questions sent to us by readers. We will publish your answers in full on the Sacbee.com web page and in edited (shorter) form in our Sunday Forum section. Note that the Opinion Page is separate from the news pages and this questionnaire will be used by Opinion Page staff – you may get separate inquiries from the news staff. If you have any questions, please call or e-mail Pia Lopez, Associate Editor, Sacramento Bee Opinion Page, 321-1904 or plopez@sacbee.com. 1. Sacramento's economy and the city's finances remain highly dependent on government employment and housing development in Natomas. What would you do to diversify the city's economy and make the city less vulnerable to gyrations in the housing market? I believe the greatest opportunity for economic growth, outside housing development, will be in the energy department. Green technologies are our future. Developing infinite resource technologies is the long term future of all markets. Solar, Hydro, and Wind are where our futures lie and there is no time to start like now. To continue to develop our environment and economies around finite resource technology is not a sustainable plan. If we truly are to be the most livable city in America this is where we should start. 2. Although violent crime has dropped over the last year, gang activity is still a serious problem in some neighborhoods, and city police lack the resources to investigate property crimes throughout the city. Given that the budget crisis could prompt further cutbacks, would you support a tax assessment for law enforcement? If so, what type of tax and at what level? Yes, a tax is inevitable, I do not know how much money is needed, but I heard $15-20 million. A city-wide half-cent sales tax would bring in 30 million, more than enough. A parcel tax could bring in a more precise, but smaller number. Yet it seems we could go for a county-wide half-cent sales tax; funding shortfalls in the county as well as the city and have some left over for transit, all in one tax vs. multiple smaller taxing at later dates and harder sells to the public. 3. What role do you believe the mayor should play in Sacramento's prekindergarten through adult education system? Give some specifics on ways that you think the city should be engaged with its education system to help Sacramento's economy prosper. We should create partnerships with educators to assist in getting students involved in government and into the job market sooner. The city already has the planning academy and the management academy; both are great resources for students to get involved in local government as well as insight into all the opportunities available to them. 4. With proposed construction of roughly 20,000 housing units in the downtown and midtown areas, where will children of these new residents go to elementary, middle and high school? What school planning should the city be doing in cooperation with the city’s school districts to meet future needs? I always remind people when speaking of denser development that we had this type of city in the 40’s. There were more schools in the inner city, more hardware stores, grocery stores, etc. This is where we are going again. There will need to be more inner city schools and other services. All these things should be considered progress, in a good way. 5. The city now ships its garbage in diesel-powered trucks to a landfill in Nevada, a practice that conflicts with Sacramento's "sustainable city" principles. What approach do you support in handling the city's solid waste and recoverable materials? I like the concept of waste to energy. I am leery of the current proposal, as it seems like an incinerator and not amongst the newest technologies. The state will be requiring we recycle a certain percentage of our waste (the incinerator does not count as recycling). We need to be prepared for this and yet I do applaud the city for starting the movement away from the commute over the sierras. 6. What is your position on a new arena for the Sacramento Kings? Do you support a city subsidy for a new arena? If so, how much and under what conditions? I am an advocate for a new arena. But, I don’t feel we have to subsidize it. I believe we need to focus on our relationship with the Maloof’s and the NBA. I also believe we can build a state of the art facility that high end business will fight to be a part of. 7. In December, the City Council authorized the use of eminent domain to gain control of two city blocks on K Street. Do you support this use of eminent domain? Overall, what would be your approach toward redevelopment of K Street and the Downtown Plaza? I do not support the use of eminent domain. However, we as citizens have made it clear we want real development on K Street. I prefer to think we can negotiate effectively, but if eminent domain is the only tool to make that happen, then so be it. Move the bus station now! 8. The City of Sacramento adopted a Mixed Income Housing Ordinance in 2000 that required five percent of all residential units in a real estate development to be affordable to low income households (those with less than 80 percent of Sacramento area median income) and ten percent of all units to be affordable to very low income households (income less than 50 percent of Sacramento area median income). Do you think the ordinance has been successful in producing mixed income housing in Sacramento? What would you do to improve the ordinance? In general, what would your strategy be for creating more affordable housing in Sacramento? I like the affordable elements to the infill projects in midtown and downtown to date. I think that 10% is a good number for large privately developed projects and that the number should increase for subsidized projects. I hesitate to increase the rates in the inner city to the point that they are greater than in less dense areas. We still need to encourage infill development over sprawl style suburban development. 9. What do you plan to do about Sacramento’s homeless population -- in particular, the large encampment under Highway 160 and in the west end of the American River Parkway? Would you consider relocating Loaves and Fishes? I want to relocate Loaves and Fishes and the Salvation Army mainly to give the surrounding neighborhoods a break from the high crime rates they have suffered through for years. The homeless population is a social issue and I have always felt that the surrounding cities need to share in the cost of services to the homeless population. I do not believe we should create a homeless camp near the cities urban core. If a camp were to be considered, it should be just that, a camp, not a tent near existing neighborhoods. 11. Would you support changing the city charter to give the mayor more power? If yes, what type of "strong mayor" system would you support? I like the current system. I feel the council should be a full-time position. However, if we decide to go to a strong mayor system, like San Diego or New York, there would be long debates and many changes made, to create a solid balance of power between the mayor and council. I would recommend a 51% veto power over the mayor by council (all seems scary). 12. The state's global warming law (AB32) requires California to reduce its carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, roughly a 27 percent reduction over current levels. What is your plan to reduce the city of Sacramento's net emissions by that amount by 2020? SO many ideas; increasing bike and pedestrian access, connecting the light rail to the airport and other transit (intermodal facility), improved carpool facilities, in-lieu-of fees to help fund transit oriented projects, increased green space development… to name a few. 13. What city services, currently budgeted, would you outsource to private industry to save money? I have pondered this question a lot since I heard it over a month ago. I don’t know what services aren’t already being outsourced that can be outsourced. The city is already letting go of staff that is (in their words) expendable (I will keep looking). 14. When is the last time you rode light rail or bus for getting to work or running an errand? What would you do to improve public transit in the Sacramento area? I am a bicycle guy. I would improve the connectivity to major shopping, business centers and transportation hubs. Improve parking facilities for commuters, including providing more services at high traffic commuter stops. I would love to take light rail to a Kings game or a mini bus to dinner and a club on Friday night. Please return this questionnaire by Wednesday, April 23.

Sierra Club Candidate Questionnaire -- Mayor, City of Sacramento, 2008 I. General Questions 1. Why do you think the Sierra Club should endorse you as a candidate for this position? I provide the most dynamic blend of social and economic perspective of all other Candidates. Therefore, providing the best mix of both environmental and economic strategies to lead this city. 2. What do you think will be the key environmental issues facing the City over the next four years? Land use issues. How do we replace the addictive income of sprawl development? Transportation / Air Quality , how do we get developers (private and government) to pay for our badly needed public / mass transit system? Waste to energy , or waste to something other than a trip to Nevada . 3. What would you do as a mayor to address environmental issues? The key is to gather consensus, then run with it. Make the decision that HOV Lanes promote the automobile, and therefore, go after alternatives, find ways to spend that money on making an inefficient transit system efficient. II. Flood Control 1. Should new development beyond already urbanized areas be permitted in areas protected by levees that do not provide 200 year flood protection? If so, under what circumstances and under what conditions should development be permitted? Building in flood zones under 200 years can be permitted when we learn how to control levees. Architects have been building on and around levees for centuries. It is still up to us, as good city planners (and humans), to ensure smart growth, intelligent land use. 2. What steps should the City take to provide flood protection to already urbanized areas while avoiding unnecessary environmental impacts? I assume we have to meet federal guidelines in providing for our citizens safety , while protecting our environment. III. Transportation/Air Quality 1. What would you propose to help improve air quality within the Sacramento area? Connecting the mass/public transit dots. Creating easier bike commutes by increasing bike access on major arteries. Creating more level of service F areas to increase ridership on alternative methods of transportation. 2. Do you support adding carpool lanes along corridors served by light rail? No. 3. What steps should Sacramento take to provide additional funding for transit and bicycle and pedestrian facilities? In lieu of fees on development that actually go to alternative transportation funding. Future transportation taxes (measure A type). IV. Land Use 1. Will you support up-zoning around transit stops and transit villages and oppose down-zoning? Would you do to support and enable mixed use transit oriented development? This is the topic of lots of conversation to date. It is obvious we as a city need tax revenue to continuously increase for the city to not only grow but be healthy. Thus sprawl, low density farm land development, has been the norm. The trick will be to keep a similar return on investment for developers to build denser transit oriented projects. Ok, well at least make sprawl style poor land use projects more expensive to build (via, in lieu of fees ) and smart growth incentives. Make it profitable to build green or transit oriented projects. If someone is going to build low density projects then they will help pay for smart growth in other places. 2. What would you do to promote more residential and retail infill development in the central City and other employment centers? Living in midtown now I see what can be done with infill development and how the synergy really works . I think the question needs to be asked how we promote this type of construction in other parts of the city. 3. What actions should be taken to revitalize and make better use of underused areas of the city, including old industrial areas and decaying commercial corridors, to promote smart growth? These areas are prime to be future redevelopment areas ( like the R street corridor) . Areas like Fulton Ave, Northgate Blvd. , Stockton Blvd, Franklin Blvd, etc., are all prime commercial corridors for redevelopment projects. Some icon, transit oriented projects (whether funded privately or partnerships with the city ) . 4. What would you do to support inclusionary affordable housing for low, very low, and extremely low income groups? Affordable housing needs to be a mandatory part of all development whether it be in the city or county. ( 10 %). If a builder gets any gap funding at all from any source they should be forced to provide low and very affordable housing . 5. What actions can the City take through the Sacramento County Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCo), Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), to control urban sprawl and promote development within existing urban areas? Should the LAFCo adopt an open space and agricultural lands preservation policy? Should LAFCo prohibit sphere of influence expansions and annexations that support development outside Sacramento County’s urban services boundary? Should SACAG withhold transportation funding from cities and counties that approve development inconsistent with the SACOG blueprint? I don’t know the reach of LAFCo. I do like the sound of an open space  and agricultural lands preservation policy. I do know that SACOG holds the keys to all the transportation dollars and restricting those will help . I am concerned that the SACOG blueprint is and can be abused as example. Just because the blueprint shows the south county area (south of Rancho Cordova being developed by 2025) does not mean it should be okay to develop it now . We ( the city ,SACOG, LAFCo.) should be forcing infill development first, now! 6. What will you do to improve the performance of the City in carrying out its responsibilities to protect endangered species? I don’t even know how the city does it now. I would assume our head of parks would have relationships with state parks and wildlife divisions to keep us abreast of endangered species issues. VI. Solid Waste/Recycling/Energy 1. Do you support continued transport of Sacramento’s trash to Nevada? If not, what alternatives do you propose? What are you views on waste to energy proposals? What are the risks of toxics emissions? What should be done to avoid undermining incentives to recycling? No , the Nevada trash ride seems insane. The WTE issues is scary as it looks like an incinerator. What kind of energy does it take to run? And what happens when the state says we need to recycle 20 % of our total waste and we have committed to all of it going to the incinerator? Do we then have to pay for the waste we do not give them ? There is a huge opportunity in these fields for economic growth .The recycling , waste to energy industry is one of the many ways to increase revenues to the city while improving our environment. The city has to be smart and employ staff that is in tune with the latest technologies and opportunities. 2. The City has adopted an ambitious Sustainability Plan that emphasizes reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and energy conservation. How should this effort be funded and how should it be applied to new development? All new development should be rewarded if it meets our sustainability goals and penalized if it does not.(the penalties for falling short can be a funding source) VII. Other Questions 1. What is your campaign address & phone number?Sacramento , CA 95816 2. What is your FPPC number? None 3. Who is your campaign manager? Myself 4 Are you a Sierra Club member? (membership is not required for endorsement). Not currently 5 What other groups or individuals have endorsed you in this race? None to date I am not taking money.  I believe money is the evil of campaigns as they currently exist. I am hoping to encourage the concept that one can mount a honest special interest free campaign and have an impact. I. General Questions 1. Why do you think the Sierra Club should endorse you as a candidate for this position? I provide the most dynamic blend of social and economic perspective of all other Candidates. Therefore, providing the best mix of both environmental and economic strategies to lead this city. 2. What do you think will be the key environmental issues facing the City over the next four years? Land use issues. How do we replace the addictive income of sprawl development? Transportation / Air Quality , how do we get developers (private and government) to pay for our badly needed public / mass transit system? Waste to energy , or waste to something other than a trip to Nevada . 3. What would you do as a mayor to address environmental issues? The key is to gather consensus, then run with it. Make the decision that HOV Lanes promote the automobile, and therefore, go after alternatives, find ways to spend that money on making an inefficient transit system efficient. II. Flood Control 1. Should new development beyond already urbanized areas be permitted in areas protected by levees that do not provide 200 year flood protection? If so, under what circumstances and under what conditions should development be permitted? Building in flood zones under 200 years can be permitted when we learn how to control levees. Architects have been building on and around levees for centuries. It is still up to us, as good city planners (and humans), to ensure smart growth, intelligent land use. 2. What steps should the City take to provide flood protection to already urbanized areas while avoiding unnecessary environmental impacts? I assume we have to meet federal guidelines in providing for our citizens safety , while protecting our environment. III. Transportation/Air Quality 1. What would you propose to help improve air quality within the Sacramento area? Connecting the mass/public transit dots. Creating easier bike commutes by increasing bike access on major arteries. Creating more level of service F areas to increase ridership on alternative methods of transportation. 2. Do you support adding carpool lanes along corridors served by light rail? No. 3. What steps should Sacramento take to provide additional funding for transit and bicycle and pedestrian facilities? In lieu of fees on development that actually go to alternative transportation funding. Future transportation taxes (measure A type). IV. Land Use 1. Will you support up-zoning around transit stops and transit villages and oppose down-zoning? Would you do to support and enable mixed use transit oriented development? This is the topic of lots of conversation to date. It is obvious we as a city need tax revenue to continuously increase for the city to not only grow but be healthy. Thus sprawl, low density farm land development, has been the norm. The trick will be to keep a similar return on investment for developers to build denser transit oriented projects. Ok, well at least make sprawl style poor land use projects more expensive to build (via, in lieu of fees ) and smart growth incentives. Make it profitable to build green or transit oriented projects. If someone is going to build low density projects then they will help pay for smart growth in other places. 2. What would you do to promote more residential and retail infill development in the central City and other employment centers? Living in midtown now I see what can be done with infill development and how the synergy really works . I think the question needs to be asked how we promote this type of construction in other parts of the city. 3. What actions should be taken to revitalize and make better use of underused areas of the city, including old industrial areas and decaying commercial corridors, to promote smart growth? These areas are prime to be future redevelopment areas ( like the R street corridor) . Areas like Fulton Ave, Northgate Blvd. , Stockton Blvd, Franklin Blvd, etc., are all prime commercial corridors for redevelopment projects. Some icon, transit oriented projects (whether funded privately or partnerships with the city ) . 4. What would you do to support inclusionary affordable housing for low, very low, and extremely low income groups? Affordable housing needs to be a mandatory part of all development whether it be in the city or county. ( 10 %). If a builder gets any gap funding at all from any source they should be forced to provide low and very affordable housing . 5. What actions can the City take through the Sacramento County Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCo), Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), to control urban sprawl and promote development within existing urban areas? Should the LAFCo adopt an open space and agricultural lands preservation policy? Should LAFCo prohibit sphere of influence expansions and annexations that support development outside Sacramento County’s urban services boundary? Should SACAG withhold transportation funding from cities and counties that approve development inconsistent with the SACOG blueprint? I don’t know the reach of LAFCo. I do like the sound of an open space  and agricultural lands preservation policy. I do know that SACOG holds the keys to all the transportation dollars and restricting those will help . I am concerned that the SACOG blueprint is and can be abused as example. Just because the blueprint shows the south county area (south of Rancho Cordova being developed by 2025) does not mean it should be okay to develop it now . We ( the city ,SACOG, LAFCo.) should be forcing infill development first, now! 6. What will you do to improve the performance of the City in carrying out its responsibilities to protect endangered species? I don’t even know how the city does it now. I would assume our head of parks would have relationships with state parks and wildlife divisions to keep us abreast of endangered species issues. VI. Solid Waste/Recycling/Energy 1. Do you support continued transport of Sacramento’s trash to Nevada? If not, what alternatives do you propose? What are you views on waste to energy proposals? What are the risks of toxics emissions? What should be done to avoid undermining incentives to recycling? No , the Nevada trash ride seems insane. The WTE issues is scary as it looks like an incinerator. What kind of energy does it take to run? And what happens when the state says we need to recycle 20 % of our total waste and we have committed to all of it going to the incinerator? Do we then have to pay for the waste we do not give them ? There is a huge opportunity in these fields for economic growth .The recycling , waste to energy industry is one of the many ways to increase revenues to the city while improving our environment. The city has to be smart and employ staff that is in tune with the latest technologies and opportunities. 2. The City has adopted an ambitious Sustainability Plan that emphasizes reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and energy conservation. How should this effort be funded and how should it be applied to new development? All new development should be rewarded if it meets our sustainability goals and penalized if it does not.(the penalties for falling short can be a funding source) VII. Other Questions 1. What is your campaign address & phone number?Sacramento , CA 95816 2. What is your FPPC number? None 3. Who is your campaign manager? Myself 4 Are you a Sierra Club member? (membership is not required for endorsement). Not currently 5 What other groups or individuals have endorsed you in this race? None to date I am not taking money.  I believe money is the evil of campaigns as they currently exist. I am hoping to encourage the concept that one can mount a honest special interest free campaign and have an impact.