Kathleen King's professional experience in management, marketing and multi-group collaborations is what she said has prepared her for serving on the Saratoga City Council. But it's her experience as a mom that she said makes her a good choice for Saratoga's voters.

"I think the interests of the city really match what I'm interested in," King said, describing the city as being "kind of a family community" that includes children, parents and grandparents.

She said serving on the city council is something she's always wanted to do, and that she considered it more after helping current Councilman John Mehaffey get elected. She is also a supporter of the current council's actions and its approach to residents, and is running on a slate with Mayor Nick Streit and candidate Norman Kline, whom she said have good experience and ideas on many issues.

King said that she supports the council's recent purchase of the North Campus Facility and sees it as having a great deal of potential for more family activities. She's also pleased with the city for rebuilding the Saratoga Library.

"I think we're going to end up really proud of our library," she said. "I'd like to see us do more things that we're really proud of."

Ideas she had for such things would be a roller rink in the city and a permanent location for the skatepark. King, who runs with her husband almost every day, said she would like more opportunities for children to be physically active.

King said she likes the way the current council deals with residents, treating them and their opinions with respect and trying to get more of them involved in the city's decision-making processes.

"You just have to get people used to that approach," she said, adding that more people will become involved naturally as the council continues to operate that way.

One of the issues she sees facing the city is traffic, its flow and noise, throughout the largely residential communities of Saratoga. She also thinks the city needs to build its consumer base, and hopes to use her marketing skills to aid in that. She likes the city's plan for the Gateway area, particularly because both residents and business owners were involved.

"That's really going to make that area nice," she said.

King said she isn't sure if she would support a chain store in the Village, but said that more could be done with the Village and she would support more Saratoga Chamber of Commerce events there. She would like to work with the Chamber more on collaborative business-building efforts with already-strong local establishments, like Montalvo or the Mountain Winery, and expand in areas in northern Saratoga.

"The more separate, then the roles are kind of defined clearer between the two," she said of the city and the Chamber. "We should be trying not to duplicate efforts."

She said she is prepared for the issues regarding the Saratoga Fire District's new fire station to not be resolved by the time she gets on the council but thinks the process is moving in the right direction. She said she doesn't think the station should be exempt from city zoning code

"It's part of the city, just like West Valley College isn't completely exempt," she said. "I don't think anybody that has a location in Saratoga should be exempt from what's best for the community."

Regarding West Valley, King said she voted for Measure E in March but wasn't happy with the school's plans for a stadium.

"I just can't see it at West Valley," she said. "But I've never not voted yes on a school bond. I really think it would have passed without the stadium, and I really think it's too bad."

She said she would not necessarily take a neighborhood's side on an issue, but would do what's best for the majority of the city while trying to "make it as appealing to the immediate neighbors as possible."

King added that the Mountain Winery is an issue for her—she would prefer it to remain undeveloped, as it is today, but would work to make sure any future development there "keeps it as beautiful as it is."

She said she believes she can handle her responsibilities as the mother of a special needs child as well as the chairwoman of a local foundation while serving on the city council.

"When you have to do that many things, you get pretty organized," she said. "The way I deal with my stress is to do these things that are important to me."