This year’s city council race features eight candidates, none of
whom are incumbents. They include a handyman, a retired
businessman, a firefighter, a project manager, a former city
manager, a restaurateur, a real estate professional and a private
school administrator. But there are two who stand out. They are
Gordon Siebert, the former city manager, and Richard Constantine,
the San Jose firefighter. They deserve your vote Nov. 2.
This year’s city council race features eight candidates, none of whom are incumbents. They include a handyman, a retired businessman, a firefighter, a project manager, a former city manager, a restaurateur, a real estate professional and a private school administrator.
But there are two who stand out. They are Gordon Siebert, the former city manager, and Richard Constantine, the San Jose firefighter. They deserve your vote Nov. 2.
Both see the city as the editorial board does: The city is largely on the right path. Unlike some council and mayoral candidates, Siebert and Constantine by and large like the decisions the city has made, the direction that it’s heading, and would work to preserve and continue that. Each might quibble with details here and there, but they recognize that Morgan Hill is a well-run city with a great quality of life. Both support the city’s use of reserve funds during the current recession.
Siebert in particular has a strong grasp of the important budget issues the city is facing. He’s worked as a Director of Public Works in Morgan Hill, as a City Manager in Palos Verdes Estates and as a civil engineer as both an employee and consultant. He knows the difference between general funds and RDA funds – something that’s a basic job requirement for every city council and mayoral candidate, and sadly, a standard that some candidates don’t meet.
Constantine is a San Jose firefighter who has lived in Morgan Hill for eight years. He understands the challenges that public safety personnel face, and he understands that the top priority of city government is to deliver services to the public. He has a good understanding of a city council member’s role and what they can and can’t do. He understands the issues effecting Morgan Hill, and most cities, in today’s economic climate. He emphasizes the need to be realistic about revenues versus expenditures and that difficult choices, based on rational priorities, must be made in difficult fiscal times. While we enthusiastically endorse him, we also remind him that his fiduciary duty will be to the taxpayers of Morgan Hill – not to his public safety union brethren – when he’s wearing his city council hat. We believe that he will be able to do just that.
Lee Schmidt, who has spent 29 years in the auto business and is now in the real estate business, is a compelling candidate with loads of experience. But he was wishy washy on whether now is the appropriate time to rely on reserve funds and he uses bottom-line business models not appropriate for a city entity. It’s not a business, it’s a municipality.
Michael Castelan, the owner of the former Poppy’s Fish Poultry and More on Third Street in downtown, is another compelling candidate, but appears to be focused on the downtown. While revitalizing downtown is an important issue, Morgan Hill is bigger than its downtown. He said he’d spend the city’s money on needs not wants, classifying public safety and the Community Center as a need, but not the Centennial Recreation Center. He urges the city to attract a diverse mix of retail shops, but had no real concrete plans to do so.
David Mounteer, a private school administrator, spouts platitudes and ideals but is short on specifics. For example, he advocated making layoffs based on job performance instead of seniority, but could not explain how he would achieve that goal in a union environment.
Ken Galloway, a senior project manager for a Bay Area computer company, is a personable candidate with whom we disagree on substantive issues. He opposes expanding Santa Teresa Boulevard, a project that will help alleviate north/south through traffic. His opposition is tinged with NIMBYism, as he noted that he grew up near Santa Teresa and his parents still live there. He believes that the fate of the Granada should be left up to voters, not City Council, but couldn’t articulate a compelling reason why City Council should be relieved of its responsibility in this case.
Lifelong Morgan Hill resident Rick Moreno, owner of Ricatoni’s Deli, does not have the depth of understanding we expect from a city council candidate. He opposes the use of RDA funds for the Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Association. He has no specific ideas about how to attract new businesses to Morgan Hill. He seems to oppose all efforts to revitalize downtown Morgan Hill, saying during his interview that it is “fine the way it is.”
Joseph Carrillo is another single-issue candidate, and his issue is making Morgan Hill more pedestrian friendly. While that’s a laudable goal, it’s clear that Carrillo, who is a big-hearted volunteer in the city, needs to learn more about the city’s budget and other issues.
