Rick Moreno responds to questions

The Morgan Hill Times gave each city council candidate a slate
of 12 questions. Here are the answers from Rick Moreno.
The Morgan Hill Times gave each city council candidate a slate of 12 questions. Here are the answers from Rick Moreno.

1. What leadership qualities can you bring to the dais if elected?

There are qualities that a leader must have, such as perseverance, honesty, sincerity, and loyalty, but a leader is not the simple sum of these qualities. As a business leader, I have also learned to make decisions on the spot and know how to follow through on these decisions. I also know that sometimes a person needs to follow to lead. In order to lead the people of Morgan Hill, its leaders need the skill to listen to the opinions of the community and become their voice. I believe that I can be that voice and lead the community of Morgan Hill to a better future.

1. What are your top priorities?

My top priorities involve moving towards what I see as the pillars of Morgan Hill’s future: self-sustainability and financial responsibility.

More specifically, I am concerned with the revival of downtown Morgan Hill in a way that directly benefits local businesses instead of ousting them, the preservation of land for local agriculture, and the promotion of community wellness, safety, and belonging.

1. What programs and/or services would you cut or save to balance the budget and how would you pay for them?

I do not believe in cutting vital services especially services affecting public safety. I also do not believe in cutting entirely already established programs. As a business owner who focused his life working to revitalize failing businesses, I know that the first step is to assess the situation and stop any new expenditures. As a city council member, I would be reluctant to give my support to any new projects especially to the projects that would clearly be non-self-sufficient.

There are ways of bringing the money into the city without compromising on vital services such as seeking new partnerships with private sector and community groups to ease the burden on the city in managing certain facilities. Unfortunately, for many years the approach to managing our state and cities was to either cut vital programs or spend more money. Either one of these approaches is an extreme that is guaranteed to result in more issues and fiscal problems rather than leading to the solution.

1. Explain your approach to negotiating with employee unions?

As a a successful and experienced business man, I truly understand the importance of being open to negotiations while clearly knowing your own goals. From my business experience, I know that in any situation, when both parties are clearly aware of their final goals, the compromise can be sought. Negotiating contracts with unions should not be any different. The issue should be approached from business and pragmatic standpoint not emotional or political beliefs standpoints. In negotiations with unions I will always seek to protect our city key goals.

1. Do you support a two-tier retirement system?

Many do not realize that even though a two-tier retirement system lessens the burden on city government and lowers the cost down the road, however it does not solve the long-term problem of keeping up with the city obligations. Whether someone supports or does not support the proposed system, it does not offer us a solution and simply postpones facing the problem What leadership qualities can you bring to the dais if elected?

1. How do you feel about RDA-financed downtown development plans, including the fate of the vacant Granada Theater building?

My business specialty is refurbishing and restarting businesses. Giving them a second chance and making them financially independent, responsible, and completely accountable. I currently have 17 success stories around California and I hope to bring this experience to discussions about the future of downtown Morgan Hill. I have a unique understanding and perspective on business that I plan to bring to the council.

That being said, I think that the Granada is an important piece of Morgan Hill that should be preserved if possible. The Granada was in operation when I was growing up, and is a fond memory for my children. I should like to see my grandchildren have memories of the Granada as well. I recognize that the motion of the entertainment industry is moving away from businesses like the Granada and favoring massive, 20-screen franchises instead. That would certainly bring a crowd, but is that really Morgan Hill?

The Morgan Hill that I cherish is one that is undeniably family-oriented. Making Monterey Street into a copy of Santana Row would destroy the welcoming atmosphere of Morgan Hill even as the city experienced a massive influx of developers creating suburban condominiums and apartments, shopping tourists flooding the streets every weekend. Morgan Hill would become a slice of modern urbanism in the midst of rural history.

1. How should the city address planning and developing in other parts of the city, such as the Southeast Quad?

One of my main goals is to move Morgan Hill towards self-sustainability. Part of this vision includes the cultivation of local lands for agriculture that will feed our families. I want to reduce the dependence of Morgan Hill on outside providers and instead focus on giving business to Morgan Hill locals.

The development of the Southeast Quad would reduce the amount of agricultural land that Morgan Hill has available to it in favor of sports attractions like indoor snowboarding attractions that are geared to bring tourists and thrill seekers to Morgan Hill. I have no objections to the development of sports facilities for our community. I remember sports as being a vivid part of my own childhood experience, and I am enthusiastic about renovating our local schools or community center, for example. But if we were to build an indoor snowboarding facility, how would that fit with the image of Morgan Hill? If we invite businesses to Morgan Hill, we must ensure first that the business and Morgan Hill are a good fit.

We should be focused on making Morgan Hill independent from, rather than dependent on, tourist revenue. We should first make Morgan Hill self-sustainable and financially responsible before undertaking large construction projects such as those proposed in the Southeast Quad and throughout Morgan Hill.

In addition, being fiscally responsible and fiscally sustainable means to make decisions within one’s means. With the present state of economy, it is not only feasible, it is irresponsible to get any resource consuming project. The SEQ project, either as a development or preservation project, can be a very successful and profitable project if it is done at the right time and with a right forethought. Taking into consideration economy, existing city projects, and other issues, it is too soon to speak off the SEQ project.

1. What is the city’s role, if any, in working with the school district?

I believe the City should have clear and well established channels of communication with the school district in order to be supportive of our schools. Even though the City cannot be directly involved in determining what and how is happening on school grounds, it should be, by all means possible, to be involved with schools and be supportive of our schools such as working with local law enforcement to provide adequate safety on and around school bus stops and on and around school grounds particularly during large sports events. It should communicate with the school district in establishing city sponsored internship programs and/or community events promoting schools’ spirit.

1. In light of the Cinco de Mayo incident at LOHS, what steps would you take, if any, to improve race relations?

I believe that the community should celebrate its cultural diversity and learn from the individual members and families that make up the whole. The incident at Live Oak High School was an example of thinking of our neighbors as belonging to different cultural and ethnic groups instead of recognizing that we all belong to the same community group. It is important to be open-minded when faced with new ideas or unfamiliar traditions. I believe that community activities will help foster the community identity of Morgan Hill, leaving racial tensions behind. I fully support the plans implemented by the school to promote cultural awareness and tolerance following this past Cinco de Mayo, and hope to see a greater community cohesiveness in the future as a result.

1. What are your plans, if any, to attract new businesses to Morgan Hill?

It is my belief that Morgan Hill will attract new investors and businesses once it becomes self-sufficient and independent.

Small businesses are the backbone of America because they are the ones who hire new employees while big businesses are cutting jobs and planning early retirements to save on profits. It is vital that we support our local and family-run businesses, promoting unity within the community. However, I also believe that Morgan Hill needs revenue to grow and that big businesses can help Morgan Hill grow and expand. To that end, I believe that Morgan Hill needs to be selective about who we invite to invest in our community, making sure on a case-by-case basis that the partnership between company and community is one that is supportable and consistent with our values as a city.

1. What prompted you to run?

I decided to run now because it was time for me to give back to my community. I finally feel as if I have enough experience and knowledge to truly benefit Morgan Hill.

I am running for a City Council seat because I believe that the people need a voice in the government. I can be that voice. My whole life, I have lived in Morgan Hill; I am familiar with the local issues and concerns, the opinions on the street. More than that though, I truly love Morgan Hill. I believe that we can make Morgan Hill even better than it is now by promoting financial accountability and moving towards self-sustainability.

This is my vision: Morgan Hill moving together towards a future that is economically viable in these modern times while still evocative of our proud agricultural roots and emphasis on family values within the community. To realize this dream, I am running for Council so that the people’s voice gets heard in government and Morgan Hill becomes the vision of the whole, not of the few.

1. Do you think changes are needed to the city’s speaker policy and council meetings, and if so what changes would you make?

It is very important that the people’s voices are heard, and that opinions all get their fair hearing. That being said, the speaker cards currently is usage Morgan Hill meetings are used to effectively budget time, not to limit a person’s freedom to speak. They have been very effective in this capacity, and I do not think that changing the system is necessary.

A possible change would be to give members of the audience cards before the meeting is to start. On these cards, members could write a question or concern and submit it to the speaker anonymously. At the end of each topic on the agenda, the speaker can respond to these questions and concerns. This way, the speaker can still have a rough estimation of how much time will be allotted to the Q&A portion, while there is more flexibility in allowing people to speak.

I believe that it is very important to allow a person to fully state their argument or claim before questions are posed, and the system of cards currently in place ensures that the speaker is able to finish without interruption from impatient listeners.