On Sept. 9, The Weekly sent questions to candidates for public office in Sunnyvale. Candidates had until Sept. 24 to respond to the questionnaire. Below are the responses provided by unopposed District 4 candidate Charlsie Chang. Responses are presented verbatim.
What are the most important concerns of the residents in your district?
Chang: The top concerns which will mirror my top priorities include:
- Public safety including crime, emergency response, Safe Routes to School, and safety regarding walking and biking
- Transit and transportation – for many, it’s difficult to get to where they need to go without driving. As a public transportation professional, I will be an advocate for improved VTA service and working to support a city shuttle
- Affordability – the Bay Area is an expensive place to live, and for Sunnyvale residents, cost of living
How will you balance the will of the majority while protecting the rights of the individual?
Chang: Public policy decisions impact people’s lives. I believe in the importance of due diligence to make sure that all views are taken into consideration when these decisions are made. It’s also important to work to be accessible to hear those points of views, especially from our most vulnerable who often don’t have the time or ability to engage with government or city council. I will take all people’s views into consideration when making a decision, and will work to be as accessible as possible.
Sunnyvale needs housing. What will you do to ensure that Sunnyvale ramps up its production of below-market-rate housing?
Chang: Sunnyvale is making significant progress on housing, and with the Housing Element as a guide, there is a blueprint for progress with the Moffett Park Specific Plan, transit oriented development, village centers, and more. However, the economic conditions make it easier to default to the highest return on investment which are market rate. We need to work with staff and our various partners to incentivize creative solutions including density bonuses, ADUs, and more to allow more projects that would include below-market-rate housing.
Government moves slowly. Where is the balance between studying/analyzing/assessing a subject and getting it done?
Chang: Sunnyvale has a study issue process which can be helpful for issues that are prioritized by council and residents, but there aren’t hard deadlines for the study issues. This means that sometimes studies can fall off, be deprioritized, or punted to following years. There is a study issue to look more holistically at the study issue process, and I will be interested to learn more about the process and where it can be improved for Sunnyvale residents.
Do you support the changes proposed for the charter? If so, explain why those changes are necessary.
Chang: As a member of an advisory commission, I’m supportive of the proposed charter changes to allow residents to serve on commissions, which are all volunteer. We have some difficulty with filling some of the positions, and many who live here permanently would like to volunteer for the community, but are unable to. Not all the commissions are stated in the Charter, and we can make more stringent determinations including citizenship requirements for individual commissions that require more oversight outside of the charter.
I support the other parts to have flexibility on the number of meetings and neutral language.
The city is going out for a bond to pay for a new library. What do you see as the path forward should voters reject that bond measure?
Chang: While I hope that voters will support the bond measure, the library will continue providing their great service to our residents at their current service level. In the current space, there are limitations, particularly with meeting rooms, space limitations and being able to offer expanded programs. The current library will also continue to face structural issues including plumbing and wiring which will be expensive to renovate.
On the other hand, the branch library opening in the Lakewood neighborhood next year will provide needed increased service for north Sunnyvale.
Election day is Nov. 5, 2024. To register to vote, visit the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters website. The deadline to register to vote is 15 days before the election.
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