The Sunnyvale Sun

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Spitaleri sets his goals as Sunnyvale's mayor

By Cody Kraatz

Sunnyvale Mayor Tony Spitaleri laid out his mayoral vision on Jan. 15 before a standing-room-only crowd of approximately 300 residents, city, county and state politicos and business representatives.

"It takes many individuals to make a city a great place to live and work," said Spitaleri. "My goal is to continue to foster community involvement to build on the foundation that was begun so long ago that brought people together based on common goals."

He cited homeowners associations, service clubs, the Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce, SUNPAC (a Sunnyvale political action committee), Leadership Sunnyvale, the Sunnyvale Downtown Association and the city's boards and commissions as avenues for community members to take an interest in city government.

The council elected him on Jan. 8 to be the city's first two-year mayor in many years. Voters doubled the term in November 2007.

Pat Castillo, a former mayor and treasurer of SUNPAC who backed Spitaleri's campaign, administered his ceremonial oath of office. Spitaleri said she always wanted him to be mayor.

"If you know Pat Castillo, she generally gets her way one way or another," he said.

Castillo lobbies for some major Sunnyvale real estate developers, a point that Councilman Dave Whittum, elected in November, and other critics of the previous council highlight as a concern. Spitaleri said there is nothing questionable about the relationship.

"We declare whom we meet with and when we meet with them," he said in a phone interview, adding that developers would be smart to talk with council members about possible projects, but don't necessarily need to hire a lobbyist to do so.

After the speech, resident Suzanne Mills said she was "bowled over" by outgoing Mayor Otto Lee's background, which includes two children, his own legal firm and service in the Naval Reserve.

"And I love Mayor Spitaleri. I think he really nailed down what they ought to do," she said. "I think there's a slight hesitance of putting yourself forward. He has that push that I think will encourage [people] to put forth ideas."

The mayor holds a largely ceremonial position. Spitaleri was previously vice mayor, and his first council term will expire in 2009.

E-mail the mayor at tspitaleri@ci.sunnyvale.ca.us

Full speech

The following is the full text of Mayor Tony Spitaleri's speech outlining his vision for the city of Sunnyvale in his coming two years in office, as provided by the mayor.

I am most humbled by my selection as mayor of our great city. I appreciate the support of my council colleagues and their vote of confidence in my ability to serve all of you as your mayor for the next two years.

As we embark on a journey to build the strongest, brightest and most solvent city, I believe that we need to focus on a few key areas.

My main goal in the next two years as your mayor is to engage our community more in shaping our city for the future. It is because of the past and current involvement of our community members that we have an excellent foundation for the great city we live in, but we must do more. Our community is made up of our residents, our businesses and our local city government. Over the past 95 years, Sunnyvale has evolved from a strong agricultural community to a leader in the technology world. We must continue to evolve in order to keep Sunnyvale on the path of greatness to become the number one city in which to both live and work.

Sunnyvale has embraced diversity and has continued to grow as one of the most diversified communities in the county. We must continue to foster this and find a way to get more individuals in our community to take an interest in our city government. Many of those avenues are our involved homeowners associations, our tremendous service clubs, our active chamber of commerce, SUNPAC, Leadership Sunnyvale, our downtown business association and our boards and commissions. All of these are made up of residents and business owners that give of their time to provide valuable input and guidance to the city council. All participants have had an effect on our daily living in Sunnyvale. It takes many individuals to make a city a great place to live and work. My goal is to continue to foster community involvement to build on the foundation that was begun so long ago that brought people together based on common goals.

I see the following as major common goals that we should, and need, to focus on over the next two years.

First and foremost, we must begin the task of identifying and hiring a new city manager. This is going to need a major focus from all of us.

The retirement of Amy Chan after 27 years of exceptional service will be felt by many. I do not believe that we can ever replace Amy but with a detailed, organized and educated plan and understanding of what we need in our next city manager, I believe we will find the right individual to partner with all of us as we move toward the future.

Attainable Housing

I believe that many of our programs may be outdated and may not yield the best results in providing true options to residents or prospective residents. As one of my initial focus areas, I will be asking my council colleagues for their support for re-evaluation of the current BMR program and additional research into new programs that can be implemented in Sunnyvale.

Environment

So much has been said about the state of the environment. It is time that we stop talking and start doing. We must start by requiring the use of energy efficient systems to reduce our negative carbon footprint. I will support stronger requirements on all future projects to achieve LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] certification.

Transportation

I believe that a city the size of Sunnyvale should have better options for public transportation. As a city, we must demand a higher level of service by the [Valley Transportation Authority]. Ultimately, a higher level of service over time will reduce our dependency on private vehicles, decrease congestion on our roads and improve our air quality.

Education

We must continue to support our educational system in order to ensure that all children attending our schools receive an education that is equal across all school districts in Sunnyvale.

I will be asking my council colleagues to support me in putting together a committee made up of residents and business representatives to find ways to partner with our school districts to enhance additional education programs in our schools.

Seniors

Sunnyvale is not only diverse in cultural aspects but also in our generations. We have a large population of seniors and as the needs of our seniors grow, we must provide and enhance the programs to ensure their well-being by allowing them to maintain their independence, be productive and continue to live in their homes.

Business

I will continue the business round table meeting with large and small businesses that my predecessors have instituted. We need strong and vibrant businesses to stay and others to want to relocate to Sunnyvale. We must find a way to balance the demand for an innovative business community within diversified industries with the skyrocketing housing prices that ultimately have the potential to drive away our business community. In turn, the business community needs to help us meet the service demands required to support them.

Last, but definitely not least, we must ensure that we stay fiscally sound. Sunnyvale is currently financially sound and as we move into a time of economic uncertainly, we must make decisions that ensure that we stay fiscally sound. This is an area of vital importance and in which each one of us can make a significant impact.

We must remember to shop Sunnyvale when shopping, eating in our restaurants or buying a car. A portion of the taxes you pay helps to provide funding for our programs and public safety.

I think it is obvious that we have a great deal of work ahead of us. As your mayor, I want you to know that I am ready to make a difference. I will work with my fellow council members to continue our commitment to provide you with a safe place to live, a clean environment and the highest level of service.

I want each of you to share your ideas, thought and concerns with me. I will be making myself available for drop-in office hours in the mayor's office to anyone in the community. My first office hours will be on Feb. 4, from 1 to 4 p.m.

Thank you once again for your support and I look forward to collaborating with each one of you as we pull together as the building blocks of a vibrant and beautiful Sunnyvale.