Only five of Saratoga's six candidates were present at the evening forum, which was co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the Saratoga News. Moderator Nancy Hobbs said candidate Neil Malhotra had a family emergency and could not attend. Malhotra currently lives in New York City while undergoing job training.

Each candidate was given five minutes at the start of the program to make an opening statement to the largely senior crowd gathered at the adult care center. Candidates Nick Streit, currently mayor of Saratoga, Norman Kline and Kathleen King focused on their positions on issues they saw facing Saratoga as well as their qualifications for the job, while Andrew Barnes and Shelley Williams concentrated more on their personal backgrounds and work experience.

The candidates were then asked questions that had been written by members of the audience and culled by members of the league.

One question was about whether the candidates would support an application for a two-story home in a single-story neighborhood if the neighbors opposed the plan. Barnes, to whom the question was directed, said he would support the neighbors over the owners of the home. Williams said the immediate neighbors abutting the proposed two-story home could have some say, but that he opposed any restrictions such as a single-story overlay approved this summer for the Saratoga Woods neighborhood.

Streit said that the overlay had been an idea supported by the majority of the Saratoga Woods neighborhood residents and that he supported it. He also said he supported neighbors opposed to a two-story home that didn't fit the character of the neighborhood. Kline said the overlay doesn't prevent homeowners from adding a second story in Saratoga Woods but just forces them to provide more evidence why they should, adding that he generally opposes two-story homes in one-story neighborhoods but would decide on a case-by-case basis. King did not answer the question.

The candidates were also asked if they would support a growing budget or would try to rein it in, particularly in this uncertain economic climate. Streit, to whom the question had been directed, said the city's budget isn't growing and that the city has made sufficient preparations in the form of large reserves and potential cuts in staff in the event that the state holds back more money in the near future. Kline agreed that the city's budget hasn't been growing significantly in recent years, particularly compared to nearby cities.

Barnes, though, said he is worried about the city's financial status, wants to know where its money is going and would look into ways of doing more with less. Williams and King did not answer the question.

Regarding a stadium at West Valley College, the candidates were asked if they had supported March's Measure E, which included such an initiative. Williams, at whom the question had been specifically directed, said a stadium at West Valley was a moot issue as the courts had found that the college couldn't build a stadium. Streit, though, said the issue is alive and that there is the possibility that the state legislature will try to give the college such permission. He is opposed to the stadium.

King said she voted for Measure E because she always votes for school bonds but she wasn't supportive of the stadium provision. Barnes said he voted against Measure E. However, according to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, Barnes wasn't registered to vote in time for the March election. Kline also opposed the stadium.

The candidates also answered a question about how to revitalize the Village. Williams said the area needs "good, small proprietorships" and he wishes them "the very best of luck" but added he doesn't know what specifically the city can do. Streit said the city is already working with Caltrans to make improvements to the roadway and beautify the area, and that he would support "a couple of really good magnet tenants to draw people."

King said the area isn't really suited to large tenants but more to unique stores that would attract people, and added that the city could provide incentives to such stores. Kline said the city shouldn't really get involved in revitalizing the downtown, as it is already "a nice little jewel" and the city could make it worse. Barnes said he would like to see that become a priority and if he were on council "he would get whoever owns that road to just do it." Caltrans owns Highway 9.

Faced with a question about traffic around schools, King said she supports the steps of staggering school start and end times to reduce the congestion at a single time—a system that is already underway—as well as increased efforts for carpooling. Kline agreed that carpooling is a good plan and that the city could show leadership there. Barnes said the city should try to get the school districts together and get them to build pickup and drop-off areas on campuses.

Williams said that more children should just walk to school. Streit agreed, adding that the city has no control over what the schools or the districts do, even though it is working with them to come up with better ways to reduce traffic.

Regarding the Saratoga Fire District's plans for a new fire station and its quality of service, Barnes said he supports the district's current plans, adding that the city needs to support its emergency support agencies, and didn't know if its service could be improved. Kline said the station needs to be replaced and he could support the new plans over the previous proposal; he also said he would like to see the district grow in the long term and not have to rely so much on its relationship with other fire departments.

King said the new plans are better and safer, thanks largely to community participation in developing them, and didn't address how the district's service could be improved. Streit said the new station plans are probably the best they could hope for and that the boundary drop between the fire district and the Santa Clara County Fire Department is improving service. Williams said he's glad to see the fire station issue resolved, but he is worried about what would happen if the county department took over the fire district. "Personalities need to be worked out if that happens," he said.

The final question of the night was about how Saratoga could provide more affordable housing, and candidates were asked if the new North Campus Facility could be used as a location for such buildings. Kline said the city is already pretty well built out but that the city's recently adopted housing element provides the good option of locating higher-density housing in commercial areas. Barnes said he doesn't see the city having much space to build affordable housing complexes but that he would support low-interest loans for low-wage workers. He also said he is concerned that he hasn't seen a plan for the use of the North Campus.

King said she is supportive of the city's housing element and said the North Campus was a good purchase by the city that she expects people to be grateful for. Streit said the housing element was a good step and that the city has already built half of the new housing units it has committed to, adding that the key is that affordable housing doesn't affect existing neighborhoods. Regarding the North Campus, he said it is already getting use and will provide more opportunities in the future. Williams recommended addressing affordable housing concerns by installing $100,000 prefabricated homes in backyards and also pursuing the possibilities of building low-income housing in West Valley College's parking lot.