Photograph by Jacquline Ramseyer

Cupertino City Planner Geoff Patnoe, with Spencer, overlooking the city he loves but is reluctantly leaving. Patnoe and his wife, Christine, are heading to San Diego to buy a new home.

Southbound

Geoff Patnoe will break some strong community ties due to housing issues

By GEORGE MOORE

A person with an extremely close bond to his hometown and community, a person "raised by the village," thus caring deeply about its future and driven to give something back-this is the definition of a man named Geoff Patnoe, and his hometown is called Cupertino.

Patnoe and his new bride, Christine, are heading south to San Diego, leaving behind a community that will surely miss him.

"It's a real loss for the community," said former city Councilman Don Burnett. "He's done an outstanding job on the planning commission in the short time he has been there."

Patnoe, 29, announced his resignation from the planning commission at its Feb. 25 meeting, after serving for 14 months.

"I am a product of Cupertino and wherever I go I will always be a product of Cupertino," Patnoe said. "And I wear that badge proudly."

Geoff's father, Herb, passed away in 1981 when Geoff was only 8 years old, leaving his mother, Shelley, to raise him and his 10-year-old brother, Christopher. His mother started her career path by going back to school and obtaining a Ph.D. in psychology from UC-Santa Cruz.

"I was raised by my mom, of course," Patnoe said. "But it was also the community of Cupertino. It was parks and recreation programs, Little League, soccer, teachers, neighbors--it was all these different people who kind of stepped up and helped my brother and me in our upbringing."

Herb "Doc" Patnoe was one of the first professors at De Anza College when it opened. He was an internationally renowned jazz educator who founded De Anza's jazz program in 1967. Every year in May, the college honors him with the Patnoe Jazz Festival, which last year celebrated its 20th anniversary. High school and junior college musicians throughout the region attend the festival, talking about music, performing and being critiqued.

"My dad cared very deeply about music in schools and in a way his memory lives on because of how De Anza has embraced him," Patnoe said.

In addition to the annual jazz festival, De Anza offers a Patnoe Scholarship to its students and has a bench and painting dedicated in his name.

Geoff Patnoe attended Stevens Creek Elementary School, John F. Kennedy Middle School, and graduated from Monta Vista High School in 1991. He spent his junior year as a congressional page in Washington, D.C., and worked as an aide to Gov. Pete Wilson after graduating from UC-Davis, where he majored in political science.

Patnoe was former state Assemblyman Jim Cunneen's campaign manager for his first reelection effort in 1996.

"It was a significant challenge and it was to his credit that he organized and executed an effective campaign," Cunneen said. "Geoff's leaving is a significant loss to Cupertino. He is very passionate about his hometown and has big dreams about the kind of city Cupertino can be for the people who live and work there."

Unfortunately for Geoff and Christine, the American dream of owning a house in Cupertino is just out of their reach. They met 10 years ago when they both worked at the Good Earth Restaurant and got married just 10 days before the November 2001 election, in which Patnoe was running for city council.

"Had I won the election, our plan was to rent, save some money and hope that the market changed," Patnoe said. "Maybe losing the election was a blessing, because it allowed us to confront fiscally and personally the reality of our situation. But that opened up a whole new can of worms, because I feel so strongly about this community and have always wanted to make my life and raise my children here. And who knows, we may end up coming back after building up some equity and saving some money. I'm never going to say never."


Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer

Cupertino City Planner Geoff Patnoe stands on a hill in Rancho San Antonio Park overlooking the municipality that he is reluctantly leaving. Patnoe and his new bride, Christine, want to buy a home, so they are heading south to San Diego.




Christine is from San Diego and Patnoe said she shares similar feelings about her hometown. Patnoe calls her an amazing woman and considers himself extremely lucky to be with her.

"We have to think about what is best for both of us," Patnoe said. "Our decision to leave Cupertino is multilayered. Sure, the lack of affordable housing had something to do with it, but it wasn't everything."

Patnoe said the slowdown in the technology industry affected his decision. He has been an executive in a technology public relations firm for the past three years, but recently accepted the position of executive director of the nonprofit San Diego County Taxpayers Association. Christine managed the board of directors of the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau. The Patnoes lived in San Diego from 1997 to 2000, Geoff working as a public affairs executive, primarily on the San Diego Ballpark Campaign.

Patnoe said they would probably be able to buy a home in San Diego within a year.

"I think he'll come back," Cunneen said. "It's a temporary hiatus, but it does point to a lot of the challenges facing young families in this area. It makes us all think we're raising children in an area where they may not be able to afford to live when they grow up. That does raise concerns about the continuity of our communities. Geoff and Christine deserve to be able to buy a home, raise their family and pursue their dreams. San Diego provides a lot of opportunities right now for young people to do that. I'd like to think that over the next five to 10 years we get more serious about providing the kinds of living environments so young people can afford to live in the areas where they were raised."

Cupertino city Councilwoman Sandra James is all too familiar with the situation. She has a son and daughter who she says cannot afford to buy a home in this area. James holds a chair on several housing committees, including the Housing Leadership Group and Joint Venture Silicon Valley.

"Housing and transportation is at the top of everyone's list," James said. "It certainly is something we've been working on."

James said Patnoe, as a planning commissioner, has really made an impact.

"He's taken that job very seriously--conducting research and attending conferences--really making himself very knowledgeable about land-use issues," James said. "And in addition, he has created the kinds of new urbanism and community that we're trying to establish here in Cupertino. I know it's been a difficult decision for him because he's so tied to this community. Certainly, I'm going to miss him and I do believe his contribution to the community will be missed. His enthusiasm, his youthful perspective and pleasure, and what he's been able to do have been invaluable."

Patnoe said the Chili's Restaurant on Stevens Creek Boulevard harbors many fond memories for him.

"I can't tell you enough about Chili's," he said. "After football games, dances, weekends, birthdays--it's one of the most popular restaurants in Cupertino. My first date with Christine was at Chili's on December 1, 1992--we split a soft taco. Every time I come back here to visit Cupertino, Chili's will be my first stop."

Patnoe said he learned in scouting that when you leave a campsite you should leave it better than when you found it and that should be the mantra of anyone involved in government.

"That goes for the fiscal situation as well," Patnoe said. "Sometimes governing is like a hot dog. You don't really want to know what the components are and how they got there, but after a little ketchup and mustard, it'll taste pretty good. But how you get there is tough. Fortunately, and I've seen this more in this community than any other, the people here really do care about getting in the kitchen and helping with that hot dog."

Patnoe said he worries that Cupertino will become a community of only rich people.

"We could continue to pay rent--throwing money into a hole," Patnoe said. "But by going to San Diego we can put money away at a faster pace, purchase a home sooner in a good community, and continue to stay involved. That's the direction we're headed."

His new position as executive director of a "fiscal watchdog" will allow him to stay involved in civic issues in his new community.

"I'm a political animal," Patnoe said. "I think you learn more from losing," he added, referring to the close race for city council. "I've learned a lot about what my interests are, how I can influence what's going on and how I can effect change."

On the evening Patnoe announced his resignation, he stated that he would continue to watch over his hometown via webcasting of city council and planning commission meetings.

"Wherever I may live or work in the future, Cupertino will always be my home," he said. "It was here where I first learned the value of activism and the importance of community. Cupertino was an incredible place to grow up and in my case it did take a village to raise this child. For this reason I will forever be grateful to the Cupertino community."

See you at Chili's, Geoff.

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