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Photograph by George Sakkestad

Saratoga City Councilman Norman Kline is stepping down after serving the city for four years, one as mayor. Kline is proud of what the council achieved over the past four years.

Kline proud of accomplishments during his four years on council

By Shannon Burkey

After serving the city of Saratoga for the past four years, former mayor Norman Kline is leaving Saratoga politics.

Kline was elected to the council in 2002 and served as the city's mayor for the 2005-06 term.

"Public service is something that I have always been involved in," said Kline, who prior to moving to Saratoga served on the Santa Clara Planning Commission for four years. "I love giving back to the community."

During his four-year tenure on the council, Kline said he and the other members tackled several issues that he is very proud to have been a part of, especially the effort to get Tax Equity Allocation funds returned to local cities.

"The TEA bill is a very complex problem that resulted in our city not getting its fair share of taxes for the last 20 years and it is now resolved," Kline said. "This city council played a really important role in that. We funded the consultants, and we led the fight for it. This will guarantee our city at least $700,000 each year forever."

Another issue Kline said he is especially proud of is the work the council did to find alternate fields for the city's youth soccer leagues, thereby taking the focus off of building a game field at Kevin Moran Park.

With pressure to build a field at the park, the community became very divided, and the council spent many meetings over the years discussing the issue.

"The work we did with Kevin Moran Park was important in bringing the community together with a compromise," Kline said.

Kline also notes the work he and the current council has done over the past four years has resulted in almost 100 percent of the city's parks being restored, the meridians re-landscaped and the Gateway project funded and built.

Although he is proud of his work on the council, Kline said there is one issue he would handle differently if he had the opportunity--North Campus. Kline was one of the council members who originally wanted to sell the campus. Looking back, he would have liked to hear more input from residents.

"I would engage the community a little more on North Campus and not make such a quick decision," he said. "I would try to bring out what the community really wanted. I still don't know what they want, so maybe it should have been stretched out a little bit more."

As mayor for the past year, Kline said he wants to be remembered for all of the accomplishments the council has achieved, but he would also like to be remembered as the mayor who took personality issues out of city politics and engaged people.

In his farewell address, Kline cited Robert Frost's "The Road Less Traveled" to sum up his years on the council.

"There are often times when you see council people say they are not capable of doing something or they don't have the money to do it," Kline said, "but we've been in situations where we've solved problems that have been around for 30 years. This city council is very brave and went out and solved the problems that were higher-risk by taking the road less traveled."

After 6 1/2 years in Saratoga, Kline and his wife are in the process of building a house in San Jose and will soon be moving. As for a future in politics, he said it is a possibility in his new city.

"I have been very fortunate. I grew up in a poorer area of San Jose, and a lot of people have helped me out along the way," Kline said. "So I definitely would love to continue giving back to my community."