Stan Bogosian
City council race narrows down to three contenders
By Kara Chalmers
Two current city council members and the planning commission's chairperson have filed for candidacy for two empty council seats in the Nov. 7, 2000 general election. The new council members will each be elected for four-year terms.
The current council members running--Ann Waltonsmith and Stan Bogosian--both have terms that end in November.
Citizens will also vote in November on Measure G, a local ballot measure that would extend a moratorium on residential development on commercially zoned land in Saratoga to March 15, 2002. Measure G has proved to be an issue that the three contenders have strong feelings about.
Less than 1.6 percent of the city's land area is designated for commercial development. Residential development is permitted on commercial areas only if the planning commission approves a conditional use permit for the developer, according to the city's general plan.
The council approved the moratorium on March 15, 1999 as an urgency interim ordinance. If it is voted down in November, the moratorium will expire on Dec. 31, 2000.
Stan Bogosian, 48, is the current mayor of Saratoga.
A registered republican, Bogosian and Jim Shaw, who died in office in August 1999, ran for and won council seats in 1996. The two had worked together on the Measure G campaign, the Neighborhood Preservation Initiative. Bogosian also served on the Saratoga Planning Commission from 1990 to 1993.
He said that Measure G's passage would get revitalization going in the city's commercial districts.
"First off, I worked very hard to get that moratorium on the ballot," he said. "Passage of Measure G is the number one campaign issue for me on my platform."
In addition to revitalization, traffic congestion is also an important issue, Bogosian said, as is parking in the village.
Bogosian sees a need to address the growing deer population in the city--but not with larger and higher fences, which he says impede migration of wildlife. He thinks the city needs to do more research on the issue.
Bogosian supports a possible joint powers authority to secure more sites for playfields outside the city limits, since the availability in the city is low. He supports a renovation of the civic center, and thinks the space there is not used efficiently today. Since that would be a costly enterprise, he thinks the city should make some temporary fixes and keep the long-term project going.
Bogosian views the current council as being stable, with a good history of working together, and accessibility to citizens.
"Right now, it's very nice place to work," he said.
Bogosian grew up in the same house in Saratoga where he and his wife live today and has lived almost all his life in the city. Bogosian teaches traffic violation classes part time for ACCTS, a consortium of community colleges for traffic safety in Santa Clara County. He is the co-author of the curriculum and works on staff development there. He also runs his family's timber business in Washington.
Ann Waltonsmith
Ann Waltonsmith, 60, is also an advocate of the moratorium on the November ballot. She too has been a long-term advocate of slow growth in Saratoga, and it is important to her to work toward maintaining Saratoga's unique character and protect the city's small amount of commercial space as the city makes changes and deal with issues like traffic and parking.
Specifically, Waltonsmith said she does not want any more high density housing in the Gateway neighborhood, since it would change the look of the neighborhood and add to traffic and noise.
"That's why I'm for this temporary moratorium and I'm hoping it will pass," she said. "It's important for leaders to not be star struck about changes or excited about growth opportunities without looking at the negative effects the change could bring to a community or to the local neighbors."
Waltonsmith said she would like to focus on securing space for more playfields whether they are inside or outside the city limits. As the city council liaison to the parks and recreation commission's subcommittee on trails, and as an active hiker herself, Waltonsmith said she sees the need for the city to promote biking and hiking as alternatives to driving in the city. In terms of the possible civic center rebuild, Waltonsmith said she thinks the city should have an overall plan even if it does not end up building all parts of it at once.
Waltonsmith, a Democrat, hails the current council as being very proactive, and she said she would like to continue getting information out and educating citizens, so that people feel the government is open.
Waltonsmith, a clinical psychologist, lived in Saratoga as a child and in 1984. She settled here with her husband, when her three children were all in college. She said that living in Saratoga for years has given her a " valued sense of heritage and history in Saratoga."
Today, Waltonsmith runs a private practice for families, individuals and couples. She also practices and manages other therapists for a different company.
Chuck Page
Chuck Page, 44, is the chairman of the planning commission.
He said he does not support the moratorium. Instead, he said the city council could use its power to amend the city code so that any project concerning commercially zoned land that comes before the city would go through specific tests, like proving how the development would maintain current sales tax revenue.
"It's an issue that was purely made up so my opponents would have issues to talk about during the campaign," he said, adding that the measure causes waste in legal fees and staff time for taxpayers.
"Where's the emergency?" he asked.
He said that all the measure would do is put off three years of any innovative ideas for commercial areas.
A Republican, Page has served on the Planning Commission since July 1998, and was elected chair in May. Page did not grow up in Saratoga, but said he and his wife chose it as the place they would like to raise their family. He has two daughters, ages four and seven.
As a manager for 13 years, Page said he has experience building relationships and encouraging teamwork.
"I don't come into this as part of any political faction," he said. "I don't come in with preplanned platforms." He does, however, see traffic, parking in commercial areas and noise on Highway 85 as problems the city needs to deal with.
While he would not advocate changing the current fence ordinance in the city, Page said the city needs to do more research on solving the deer problem, but does not believe in allowing the trapping and shooting of deer on private property.
He said the city needs to improve and strengthen its partnership with Chamber and local businesses, and he suggests formulating a plan, rather than use the approach currently in place--which Page calls haphazard and often even litigious.
Page would like to see the city council give clearer direction to all the city commissions and city staff, especially in the beginning of projects. He would like to see more joint meetings as well.
Page is the vice president of sales for WebPartner, a Cupertino-based Internet services provider.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
