Unlike some races of the past, the 2004 campaign for Los Altos Hills City Council features five strong candidates competing for three seats.
Colette Cranston, Carol Gottlieb, Craig Jones, Jean Mordo and incumbent Mike O’Malley all seem committed and capable at handling the town’s present and future challenges, which range from housing development and the construction of a new town hall to pathways development, water usage and sewer hookups.
Cranston has previous extensive experience as a city planner. Gottlieb has worked in town government since 1975. Jones has a successful track record in business and has shown a passion for community involvement. Mordo also has a strong business background and is currently serving on the town planning commission. O’Malley already has four years of successful council leadership under his belt.
We like all five, but Cranston, Mordo and O’Malley are best qualified for council.
Her last name doesn’t automatically qualify Cranston. Strong public policy experience, motivation and leadership skills do, however. Having worked as a planner in Utah and Colorado, Cranston also served as a county commissioner prior to moving here. She’s taken time off to raise a family, but has recently taken on a healthy dose of community involvement. Among her current affiliations, she’s vice president of Supporters of Westwind Barn. She created and organized a successful arts and crafts fair in support of the barn and its programs.
We appreciate Cranston’s commitment to fairness and looking at all sides of an issue before making decisions – a trait not all that apparent among current town leaders.
Mordo, although a relative newcomer to the Hills, seems quite aware and sensitive to his town’s rural legacy. In fact, preserving the town’s natural environment and guarding against the encroachment of fenced suburbia is his No. 1 priority. With a background in international business, Mordo also values fairness. His work on the planning commission has played a role, no doubt, in endorsements of his candidacy by all five current councilmembers. We appreciate his approach to the town’s high-profile issues, housing development and pathways. Mordo believes in the pathway system and the “small sacrifices” residents make to provide open space. On the other hand, he is willing to erase a path that has no function and creates hardship.
O’Malley has served on a council that has shown considerable improvement in addressing town needs. He has been active and responsive at addressing town issues, such as taking on the often complex and unenviable task of meeting sewer needs in the years ahead.
The current mayor, who has been involved in startup companies, has been at the forefront of council activity in a number of important areas, from overseeing the construction process for a new town hall to discussions involving the undergrounding of utilities. He, too, takes a practical approach to approving pathways and new housing development. He sees the new pathway map, set for completion in January, as providing function while avoiding redundancy. He’s comfortable with the town’s current Fast Track process for housing and the elimination of design guidelines, while remaining open to setting limits on house sizes.
While we felt O’Malley could have been more tactful in his open criticism of the Los Altos School District over the Bullis-Purissima School site, he has shown a strong commitment to his council work. We’re confident O’Malley will continue to serve the town well for another four years.
Proposition 39. It also remains to be seen how Poizner, who is obviously bright but used to running things his own way, will fare when working with other legislators. But we think Poizner, who has specific solutions for specific problems, will do a better job in Sacramento.
but used to running things his own way, will work with fellow legislators and how he will fare when forced to compromise on issues. But we think he’s a better bet than Ruskin, who offered far less specific answers to questions than Poizner did.
