Browse archives: 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995

Published on 10/06/1997 All articles from this issue

Candidates' mettle put to test at simulated council meeting

printer friendly version

By Bruce Barton / Town Crier Staff Writer

Pre-election candidate forums can offer some help for voters choosing among local candidates, but in reality, the limited format often triggers shallow responses and general impressions.

The questions, usually not varied from one event to the other, allow candidates to go on "auto-pilot," offering stock answers that don't give voters much insight.

That may change this coming Monday. That's when the Los Altos City Council chambers will be the setting for the first ever "simulated council meeting" in which the public can see Los Altos City Council candidates fill the roles each will play in real life if elected.

This new kind of forum, the brainchild of Town Crier publisher Paul Nyberg, appealed to former Los Altos councilman Jim Thurber, who agreed to head the steering committee for the event.

"I was just getting bored with traditional forums," Thurber said. "You can almost predict what they're going to say. They also have the freedom to step around questions."

Thurber said the simulated council meeting, titled "Candidates In Action," allows the audience to get "a better feel" for how candidates would approach problems.

This forum will force candidates to "think on their feet and work with their fellow council people to come up with a solution," Thurber said.

The candidates, King Lear, John Moss, Steve Smiley and Patti Williams, will convene as a council to spend 20 minutes on each of four typical, but hypothetical issues. On a rotating basis, each candidate will be a "20-minute mayor" to bring the "council" to a vote in each issue.

All candidates have received a "packet" of background information on the four issues and can do as much background research on each as they want. However, what they won't know until just before the meeting is what problem they will face as mayor. As mayor, their job is to discuss the alternatives and in 20 minutes, take a vote. Nyberg will be moderator of the session.

The four issues presented to the council will come from Los Altos residents, acting as city staff members. They are as follows:

Hypothetical case No. 1, big yellow house: Acting city planning director Tom Anderson's "case" concerns an owner who wants to build a two-story post-contemporary house on a quarter- acre lot surrounded by single story ranch homes. Also, the owner is into natural landscaping and plans no irrigation or plantings of any kind and will paint the house bright yellow with purple trim. All the above are within current ordinances and no variances are sought.

Hypothetical case No. 2, underground utilities: Acting public works director Jim Thurber reports that an underground construction company proposes putting all electrical, phone and cable TV wires underground throughout Los Altos. While costing over a million dollars a mile, two changes in current law make this advantageous to the city and homeowners in the long run: a) the city is now allowed to own the cables and underground system and, b) with deregulation the city can purchase power from any supplier and not just PG&E, possibly saving everyone money. A city-wide assessment district charging homeowners a share of the cost based on the width of their lot can be established by a vote of the council-no city-wide election is needed.

Hypothetical case No. 3, general plan change: Acting city manager Kristine Salmon reports that city staff has concluded that a two-acre parcel be rezoned for single family homes that has been designated in the General Plan for multi-family senior housing. The planning commission turned down the idea and the owner has appealed the decision to the council for action.

Hypothetical Case No. 4, skateboard park: Acting parks and recreation director Conrad Heintzelman has brought a group of 25 skateboarders to the meeting to bolster his case for a permanent skateboard park to be available 12 months a year. Acting city attorney Jim Reynolds expresses some concerns about liability issues. The cost will be about $85,000, money not now in the budget.

The "mock" council meeting, co-sponsored by the Town Crier and PenWest Realtors, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Los Altos City Hall, 1 N. San Antonio Road, Los Altos. Admission is free.