The Willow Glen Resident

Mayoral hopefuls take on the issues

WGNA forum topics include open space and airport traffic

By Cecily Barnes

Bill Chew was not on roller skates. Other than that, the mayoral candidates' forum hosted by the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association May 13 played out as expected. The questions were sharp, 155 people showed and the candidates were armed with the same answers they've been bringing along on the campaign trail all month.

Chew, known for regularly attending City Council meetings on roller skates and judged by many to be the least likely candidate, spent his 60-second time slots chastising crowd members for not spending their free time at City Hall.

"You can go in there almost any time, in any condition," Chew rejoiced. "I've been to over 400 City Council meetings. City Hall is ours. It's not too late to get involved."

Besides beating this point into the ground and soliciting on-cue chuckles from the crowd, Chew's only campaign promise was to exterminate redevelopment efforts the day he takes office.

Kathy Chavez Napoli, the other political newcomer, told the audience how she picked prunes from the orchards as a child, paid her own way through college and built up her multimillion-dollar auto-wrecking company, Santa Clara Auto Wreckers.

"I'm very proud of the fact that I haven't held public office," she said. "You are my friends, my neighbors, and guess what? I'm going to still be here when I get out of office."

Napoli reiterated her campaign promise to increase the amount of redevelopment money spent on affordable housing from 20 to 50 percent.

Councilwoman Pat Dando was interrupted by spontaneous applause when she complimented Willow Glen as the gem of San Jose and pledged to protect its integrity at any cost.

"Willow Glen is one of the most unique neighborhoods we have in the city, and I would never do anything to change the quality of what you have," Dando told the audience. "If there are to be 24-hour places, they should go downtown."

Former Santa Clara County Supervisor Ron Gonzales held out his arms, dredged up all the charm and charisma he could muster and promised the people there that he was the candidate to lead them into the 21st century. He also listed his supporters, including Mayor Susan Hammer, District 6 Councilmember Frank Fiscalini and five of the other seven councilmembers likely to be re-elected.

Businesses vs. Neighborhoods

Lately, some people wanting peace and quiet in their Willow Glen neighborhoods have been at war with Lincoln Avenue businesses wanting to grow and offer expanded hours. When asked how to balance these often conflicting demands, Dando implied that she'd side with the neighbors.

"My first commitment is to the neighborhoods," she said. "If we don't have healthy neighborhoods, we won't have healthy businesses."

Gonzales didn't pick a side, offering only that neighbors should become involved in the development process early so that potential disagreements can be worked out in advance.

Napoli denounced the city practice of notifying only people within 300 feet of new developments, arguing that folks much further away are also affected. Chew reiterated his City Hall mantra: that citizens should come to the chambers and solve the problem themselves.

"The mayor isn't supposed to be the captain of the football team," Chew said. "He's supposed to be the referee."

Mowing the Greenline

At first each candidate spoke as if he or she would act as a human blockade if the city's open space were threatened; however, hints were dropped that with a small incentive some of them would stand up and jump on the bulldozers.

Gonzales preached the importance of passing along open space to his grandchildren. However, once it was Dando's turn, she used part of her 60 seconds to point out that Gonzales supported reviewing the city's general plan, which could mean changing the Greenline boundaries, beyond which the city will not allow development.

After finishing her Gonzales update, Dando assured the crowd she both supports the Greenline and opposes reviewing the general plan. Napoli told an ambiguous story about how her son had an asthma attack at her Coyote Valley home, needed an ambulance and was dangerously far from important medical infrastructure. Chew stood and drew an imaginary "line in the sand" with his foot.

Airport expansion and traffic

Despite the relatively straightforward question, none of the four candidates answered whether they supported or opposed the Airport Traffic Relief Initiative, a ballot measure proposed by Councilmember David Pandori to improve traffic before construction of the new airport terminal.

Gonzales said only that he supported the "compromise expansion plan" that the City Council approved but acknowledged there are some serious traffic problems that need to be curbed. (However, at an April 29 press conference, Gonzales said he opposed the initiative.)

Dando insinuated that she too was against the initiative when she said that all the proposed traffic improvements could be made without bothering with the initiative process.

Chew and Napoli spoke with fervent anti-traffic sentiment. "If we keep growing, we'll be like L.A.," Napoli said. "I won't let that happen."

After the meeting, Willow Glen residents mingled with the candidates to ask more questions and figure out whom to vote for in the June 2 primary. Although many in the audience had already decided how to cast their votes, they showed up to hear more and see what the candidates were like in person.

"I think face-to-face meetings mean something different," said Helen Arbuckle, widow of San Jose historian Clyde Arbuckle, after the forum. "You get to see their body language."

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