The Silicon Valley Voice has invited local candidates running for office to speak directly to the voters via our website. We asked candidates for Sunnyvale City Council to tell voters, in a short essay, about the challenges and opportunities in their jurisdictions and their ideas for addressing problems and leveraging opportunities.
Ten years ago, a neighbor knocked on my door and said, “Do you know that a three-story office will be going up behind our houses?” We quickly organized a grassroots neighborhood effort. We successfully persuaded City Council to modify the project to better fit the neighborhood and add a signal light to redirect traffic. That’s when I realized that one resident can make a difference.
Since you elected me to City Council five years ago, we finally have downtown moving forward, with a movie theater opening next year. I proudly supported our public safety officers who have kept Sunnyvale the safest city in America for the third straight year. And Sunnyvale led the way launching Silicon Valley Clean Energy, bringing clean electricity that is cheaper than PG&E.
We have more to do. I’m concerned when people tell me they may have to leave Sunnyvale because of rising housing costs. Traffic is worse than ever. And we need to keep lowering our carbon footprint, so our kids will enjoy the same quality of life we did growing up.
That’s why we need practical, real-life solutions like housing near transportation. We need to extend our new intelligent traffic signals to El Camino. We need to uphold Sunnyvale’s renowned budgeting process and still keep adding to the 12 acres of park land City Council has already approved.
I have the proven leadership and experience on City Council to continue implementing these solutions effectively while managing Sunnyvale’s $489 million annual budget responsibly. I was chosen twice by my fellow councilmembers to serve as Vice Mayor. And my grassroots, neighborhood background gives me a personal understanding of what it is like for residents who approach Council for the first time with a request, because I had that same experience myself just ten years ago.
I respectfully ask for your vote on November 6th. For more information, please visit my web site at www.GustavForSunnyvale.com.