The Sunnyvale Sun

Letters & Opinions

Speak Out

Hamilton believes her
priorities are just fine

After an entire generation, I keep hoping the mommy wars would be over. Apparently not, because there are four members of this council with school age or younger children, and only I, the sole female council member, am maligned for not staying at home with mine.

The editor of this paper spent an entire column (Bogart column, Sun Aug. 9) seemingly regretting her career choices at the same time she judges me for mine. I don't have an opinion on her choices; I'm sure she did what she felt was necessary to provide for her family.

I am extremely offended when she implies that my priorities are not in order. My priorities are exactly where they should be: I want to live a life full of meaning and be a role model for my kids. Because she knows nothing about my daily life or my aspirations, the editor made some presumptive judgments that are untrue and insulting. She falsely assumes that I spent no time dealing with council issues on my maternity leave last time, and is unaware of the fact that I did come back at least once to the dais to vote on downtown-related issues. Just because I'm not visible doesn't mean I'm not doing the job.

If you have a problem with my policy work on the council, say so. But you have no right to imply I'm a bad mother because of my career path or that I can't do the job because I have kids. Put the mommy wars to rest and try supporting someone who makes different choices than you did. And if you don't think that a toddler should be at a meeting, then you shouldn't invite him to come.

Melinda Hamilton

Councilmember, Sunnyvale

Bad grade? Change
the grading process?

The article "City rankles at the 'F' grade ABAG, board give housing" (Sun Aug. 2) raised a few questions. What is ABAG? The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) is one of more than 560 regional planning agencies across the nation working to help solve problems in areas such as land use, housing, environmental quality and economic development.

When city communications officer John Pilger said, "The permits issued are not the important thing. What's important is how many units are actually occupied," what did that mean? Are there unpermitted housing units in Sunnyvale that are occupied? If so, why?

AGAG research director Bartolotto says his group looks at issued permits because it is a "real, recorded number." That makes sense. And again leads us to ask why Pilger doesn't think permits issued are important.

This may be a case of get a poor grade, blame the grading system. Lowering the bar doesn't help anyone. An "A" grade when the bar is lowered doesn't mean one is doing better, it means standards have been lowered. Perhaps Pilger should examine why the city of Sunnyvale received an "F" instead of seeking to change the grading system.

Jack Spratt

Sunnyvale

Hamilton constituent wants representation

Thank you for your column about "Balancing babies against a public career" (Bogart column, Sun Aug. 9). In the case of our city of Sunnyvale councilmember, Hamilton has been granted two extended maternity leaves occurring during her first term on the council. It is quite obvious that the council is low on her list of priorities. I regret I voted for her. Sunnyvale residents lose with representation like hers.

Dorothy Rittenberg

Sunnyvale

ABAG supports housing,
doesn't issue grades

A recent Sun article (Sun Aug. 2, "F" housing grade given to Sunnyvale by Bay Area Council) highlighted ongoing confusion about the housing role of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). ABAG doesn't give housing grades nor set housing standards.

However, ABAG is mandated by the state to allocate to individual Bay Area cities and counties their fair share portion of money for anticipated regional housing needs.

This regional housing need and numbers are determined by the state through the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). ABAG's often-misunderstood role is to develop a process to distribute the regional housing need equitably so local governments can identify appropriate housing sites and policies for their fair share goals or targets.

Sunnyvale staff aptly questioned the low grade Sunnyvale received from the Bay Area Council. The article accurately noted that characterizing a city's success or failure in producing housing based on a narrow range of data, like housing permits, is problematic. The number of housing permits issued doesn't entirely reflect what has been built as a result of a community's past actions or what's happening "on the ground" with current development approvals. As ABAG president, I am aware of the excellent efforts of Sunnyvale's elected officials and the many positive planning steps they have taken to encourage housing production. Clearly though, the underlying message is--and there is widespread agreement on this fact--there is more to do.

ABAG's ongoing role and continuing interest is to assist cities and counties address growth challenges strategically and in the most desirable way for the region. Recognizing local governments' responsibility for land use policies and development decisions, we also believe that, when cities and counties work together to link their local priorities and planning efforts to a regional vision that includes an adequate housing supply, we will win the top grades our region and communities deserve. That is the core focus of a regional partnership called "Focusing Our Vision," led by ABAG, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (www.bayarea vision.org), and ABAG's latest report "A Place to Call Home--Housing in the San Francisco Bay Area." (www.abag.ca.gov/planning/housingneeds/resources.html).

Dave Cortese

ABAG President