The Island’s CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE

Name — Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft

Age — 58

Occupation — Planning Board President, Attorney, Arbitrator

Relevant experience — I have served on the Planning Board for the past
four and a half years and am currently President, and previously served on
the Economic Development Commission. During my tenure on the
Planning Board, we helped strengthen the local economy by approving
plans to revitalize our business districts, including Park Street north of
Lincoln Avenue to replace lost revenue from the departure of the car
dealerships, Alameda Towne Centre, and the recent decision of VF
Outdoors, parent company of North Face, Jansport, Eagle Creek and
Vans to bring its corporate headquarters and 650 jobs to the Harbor Bay
Business Park. We also recently initiated the development of planning and
design concepts for the revitalization of Webster Street.

I co-chaired the campaign to build a new Main Library and renovate our
two branch libraries. In addition to providing a well used, well needed
public resource, the opening of the new Main Library in 2006 ushered in
the revitalization of the downtown Civic Center core.

As a Director of Alameda Hospital and the City of Alameda Healthcare

District for 6 years, I helped oversee our 135-bed community hospital with
500 employees, and manage a $235 million annual budget. I also chaired
the campaign to create a healthcare district to keep Alameda Hospital
open.

Why are you running for this office? — To bring leadership ability and a
collaborative presence to the City Council. After 14 years of local public
service I have a strong grasp of local issues. Alameda must move beyond
the current political infighting and focus on creating jobs and housing
opportunities.

Why should we vote for you? — Because I am not afraid to make tough
decisions, after thoroughly studying an issue and hearing from the public
and my colleagues, as I have done for four and a half years on the
Planning Board. This ability to make a decision and move forward on an
issue is crucial now as the city faces important decisions about the future
of Alameda Point and how to maintain a fiscally sustainable city.
What do you feel are the roles and responsibilities of the office you’re
seeking? – I believe the role of a City Councilmember is to be well-
prepared for every meeting by having read meeting packets ahead of
time, being familiar with issues to be discussed, and making oneself
accessible to the public and those who come before the Council.

The City Council is the policy making body of the City and approves all
legislation, reviews proposals for community services, approves new
programs and provides for the necessary financing, and approves and
modifies the City budget. Additionally, the City Council appoints the City
Manager, City Attorney and City Clerk, and also has the authority to
remove those individuals from their respective positions. The City Council
acts in a number of different capacities when sitting as the Alameda
Reuse and Redevelopment Authority (ARRA), Housing Authority Board of
Commissioners, the Community Improvement Commission (CIC), the
Industrial Development Authority, the Alameda Public Financing Authority,
and the Alameda Public Improvement Corporation.

What do you think is the most pressing issue you would face if elected and
what would you do to address it? – Strengthening our local economy by
creating jobs and housing opportunities, as I have done during my tenure
on the Planning Board. I would take steps to grow our local economy by
attracting new businesses to Alameda and supporting and strengthening
our existing business districts, to increase City revenues. We must also
develop Alameda Point because this area has tremendous, untapped
potential to generate revenue from new homes and new businesses.

What do you think needs to be done with Alameda Point – and what steps
would you take to make that happen? – After two failed attempts at
developing Alameda Point, the City must learn from past mistakes as it
moves forward, and also heed the results of hundreds of hours of
community forums and citizen input. We should not have to start at
“square one”.

The “Long Range Financial Forecast for 2009 - 2019” prepared by the
Fiscal Sustainability Committee suggested, back in 2008, that:

“If SunCal terminates the agreement with the City, the City Council
should consider hiring its own land planner and develop its own reuse
plan, with community input. If voter approval is obtained, the City can
then offer an approved plan to the market place on a bid basis with a
plan that is acceptable to the Public and has the zoning, mix (of uses),
and density in place.”

I think there is merit to this hybrid option for developing Alameda Point,
with the City handling long-term leases (hopefully Lawrence Berkeley Labs
among them) and then putting out bids for a developer or developers to
handle residential, retail and other commercial development, in
accordance with what the community wants to see. In a hybrid
agreement, infrastructure costs could be shared between the City and a
developer or developers.

At this point, I don’t have enough information to support the City acting
as its own Master Developer because, while the economic benefits sound
attractive, the City has no comparable experience performing in this
capacity and I’m not convinced that the City can afford the pre-
development costs such as an EIR and other required studies, as well as
the additional staff that would be needed, and the cost of repairing and
replacing infrastructure.

But any Development Agreement the City enters into must avoid the
pitfalls of the proposed SunCal Development Agreement that were so well
described in an analysis done by the Chamber of Commerce before the
Measure B election. The City must negotiate a strong development
agreement that benefits Alameda.

My vision for Alameda Point is a fiscally and environmentally sustainable,

transit-oriented, pedestrian and bicycle-friendly mixed-use development
that includes an abundance of job-creating uses such as the VA clinic —
perhaps a partnership between the VA Clinic and Alameda Hospital;
Lawrence Berkeley Labs; offices, commercial, light industry and clean
manufacturing uses; a variety of housing types to serve Alameda Point
employees and others, with highest density residential located within 1/4
mile of the ferry terminal and transit hub; residential-serving retail; schools;
a branch library and lots of recreation areas and open space, including
public shoreline access and a wildlife preserve.

What steps would you take to bolster Alameda’s economic base? –Please
see responses to the two previous questions.

Questions have been raised about whether the city is transparent enough
in conducting its business. Do you think this is an issue and if so, what do
you see as being specific problems and how would you seek to resolve
them? – I think there is room for improved transparency, on a number of
levels. I believe communication between the City and the public could
be improved, so the public is aware of actions the City is taking and why. I
would explore the use of a system some other jurisdictions use (including
Oakland, I believe), where members of the public can e-mail questions
about specific agenda items to the City Council or a Board ahead of
time, to be addressed at the meeting. I would also look for ways to keep
Council meetings from lasting well beyond midnight because most
people aren’t able to stay that late, and we need as much citizen
participation as possible, to make informed decisions.

Pensions and retiree health benefits will be a huge financial issue for the
city. How would you address it? – We value and are grateful for all of our
City employees, including our public safety employees, but we cannot
provide a safe, livable community for our residents if we don’t reduce
expenditures and address escalating employee retirement costs.

I attended a legal seminar this spring on the topic of “Controlling Public

Employment Costs In Challenging Times”. While there are no easy
solutions, other California communities have worked with employee
unions to reach fiscally sustainable agreements and I am convinced that,
working closely with our unions, in good faith, Alameda can do the same.

Would you seek to preserve Measure A or amend it and if you’d amend it,
under what circumstances would you do so? – Both. Measure A has done
an excellent job of protecting Alameda’s historic architectural character
and must be preserved for those purposes. There are also areas of the city
where a modification to Measure A could bring economic revitalization
and provide a variety of housing types, such as Alameda Point and
Webster Street.

How are you financing your campaign and to whom are you reaching out
for money? – Individuals donors who share my vision for Alameda. If you
would like to contribute, please visit my website,
www.marilyn4alameda.org