New Los Altos Hills mayor outlines goals for coming year

Craig Jones started off his first month as mayor of Los Altos Hills with praise for recent progress from the Los Altos School District and optimism about the process of reopening Bullis-Purissima Elementary School. “We want to encourage the positive things that they are doing,” he said. “We consider it a very positive redress of errors in previous times.” Jones predicted minimal council involvement in schools issues compared to last year’s volatile redistricting campaign, and he said he plans to focus his leadership on parks and recreation development. In his draft of council priorities for the coming year, Jones highlighted Westwind Barn and the Little League fields for focus and development, noting that he would continue to explore access to Foothills Park in Palo Alto and to a local pool for residents. “It’s a lot easier to work with physical facilities that you already have than to add to them,” he said. The town has already ordered a topographical map of the Little League fields, which will allow for more specific study of feasible designs. In addition to improving the efficiency of the irrigation system and reducing runoff, Jones said he wants to add a sports court to the existing fields and “parklike” features that would make the area an appealing family hangout. Jones has found himself in the middle of council disagreement over how to proceed with improving Westwind Barn, with Councilmen Jean Mordo and Breene Kerr forwarding plans to unite the town and fundraisers in repairing the structure, and Councilmen Dean Warshawsky and Mike O’Malley balking, citing minimal interest in equine projects in a recent townwide survey. “I do not interpret the survey as saying a majority of residents would oppose spending taxpayer money,” Jones said. “I appear to be the swing vote on this. We’re going to create value (at Westwind), regardless of whether we vote to put public funds in.” A longer-term council project Jones plans to continue to pursue is the town sewer system, which he described as a critical issue that will need work for the next two decades. He said the town should consider a bond measure to expand the backbone of the main pipe system and access to it for residents on septic tanks, but he acknowledged that the move would likely meet resistance from some residents. “There may need to be more demographic turnover in town (before the bond measure goes forward),” Jones said. “But sewer is a ‘have to have.'” Jones said he hasn’t decided whether to run for a second term on the city council next year, when he and Mordo have a chance to run for re-election. One council seat will not have an incumbent in the race, as O’Malley is completing his second term and the council has a two-term limit. Jones said he is not looking to campaign for regional elected positions anytime soon, but he hasn’t ruled out dabbling in politics after his time on the city council. “I have an affinity for politics, but even more so for public policy,” he said. His particular interest is in health-care issues and reform, a subject he covers in his work at the venture capital firm Ticonderoga Capital, some of whose clients are administrative health-care companies. “The administrative costs of health care are the greatest of any other industry in the country and any other health-care system in the world,” Jones said. He is interested in promoting affordable health-care delivery and low-cost clinics, and he has spoken with regional and state political leaders about related policy issues.