Last nights League of Women Voters debate was a great success as I was able to share my vision for a thriving pedestrian friendly downtown with great restaurants serving as a regional destination, an Innovation District near our new Warm Springs Bart Station (see the kudos today in John Kings article in the SF Chronicle!) and closer collaboration between our City and Fremont Unified. Below is a slightly longer version of my closing comments last night as we only had 1 1/2 minutes for our closing. I answered a range of questions on affordable housing, community benefits for the Warm Springs District, promoting art and good architecture, and even a question on purple pipes and greywater! I encourage to look for rebroadcasts of our council candidate forum on Comcast 27... **************************************************************************** CLOSING COMMENTS I want to thank the League for hosting this forum so that Fremont residents can make an informed choice when we vote for the election to Fremont City Council I am proud to call Fremont my home and home town. I went to school and now raise a family here in Fremont with my wife Teresa who is an elementary school principal in Fremont. But we need Councilmembers who look beyond our city limits and realize Fremont’s rightful role as a regional leader. I will be that Councilmember. I have the vision to make our new Downtown the “social heart” of our community that is vibrant and pedestrian-friendly for new high-end restaurants closer to the street and as a public gathering place. And a Downtown that will leverage our BART Station which will now have ridership going in both directions. For this reason, I led the Planning Commission to recommend that we extend the Downtown to Bart and rename our Bart Station the Fremont Bart Station. On Council, I will work to make this happen. I have the vision to make our Innovation District around the new Warm Springs BART Station a magnet for clean tech and bio tech companies. Tesla is our anchor but we have already 30 clean tech companies calling Fremont home. As your councilmember, I will make sure we keep focused on creating 20,000 good middle class jobs in this Innovation District - the kind of job that my Dad had when he was able to buy a house in Fremont in 1961 as a Washington High School teacher. I have a record of accomplishment on my seven years on Planning Commission: from making our sign ordinance more consumer friendly and protective of free speech; to a bolder vision for our Downtown and Climate Action Plans; to strengthening our Public Arts and our Affordable Housing Ordinances. I am already well-known in the community yet I come as a clean slate and with an open mind. I have the integrity to do what is in the best interest of the City for years to come- and not act out of only narrow self-interest or only for the next election cycle. I respectfully ask for your vote on November 4.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 18:30:46 +0000
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