News and Blog – Cassidy for San Leandro

On Monday night, the mayor and city council (with solely Council member Bill Stephen dissenting) voted to pay the political consulting firm Lew Edwards $61,000 to fill the mailboxes of San Leandro voters with mailers explaining why City Hall needs more money. $20,000 of the $61,000 will go directly to the consulting firm.

As reported in the Daily Review, political campaign consultant Catherine Lew, of Lew Edwards, told the city council, “Many citizens need good, old-fashioned Budget 101,” More accurately, many council members need “good, old-fashioned budget 101.”

I stated this mailing program was a “public propaganda campaign for higher taxes.”

“It’s paid political messaging sent out by the government to convince the voters to give more money to the government,” Stephen Cassidy said. “The public should not be paying a consultant to do the work of the mayor and the City Council.”

This mailing program is designed to build support for the mayor and city council’s plan to raise the sales tax in San Leandro to 10%.

The Daily Review published its first article on the San Leandro mayor’s race. Of note, Mayor Santos said a main goal for a second term of office would be increasing the police force to 100 officers. This was the same promise he made in 2006 when he first ran for mayor. In June 2009, he and the city council voted to cut the police force from 94 to 88 officers. Vice Mayor Starosciak, who has served on the city council for five years, stated, “San Leandro is decaying.”

I stated I was running for mayor to rein in the city’s “fiscal irresponsibility.”

If elected, he would push to re-examine the city’s pension contributions for its employees, cut back on employee overtime and use of consultants, as well as look into eliminating employee perks, such as free health-club memberships. “I made this pledge, and I am deadly serious about this: I will not take a salary until the budget deficit is eliminated,” Cassidy said. “And I’m going to eliminate it without raising taxes.”

The campaign kick-off party on November 12, 2009, was a great success. I am thankful for the many persons that attended, including school board members Mike Katz, who introduced me, Morgan Mack-Rose, and Hermy Almonte. I outlined my vision of San Leandro and how we can achieve it within the next five years.  Below is a copy of my speech.

“San Leandro 2014: A Vision of A Better San Leandro” By Stephen Cassidy

I recently told my daughter Fiona that I was running for mayor against another man and woman. I said I would be having a campaign kick-off party and would make a speech. Fiona responded, “Don’t make it boring or they might vote for the other man or woman.”

My first thought was my daughter is showing such political astuteness at a young age. My next thought was – she knows me well.   I can be long winded.  With my daughter’s warning in mind, I want to tell you why I am running for mayor.

I care deeply for San Leandro. I am running for mayor to work with the community to create a better San Leandro.

What does that mean? Imagine the year is 2014. Here is what is happening in our city:

• San Leandro is regarded as a safe community. Robberies and burglaries have declined substantially.

o How did that happen? The decrease in crime has been attributed to the return of the police department to full strength as well as the implementation of innovative policing strategies.

• In 2014, San Leandrans are working again. With residents of nearby cities, San Leandrans enjoy shopping and dining at a wide range of quality retail stores and restaurants in the city, including many in the downtown area.

o The economic pick up occurred in part because the city met with the Chamber of Commerce, business and neighborhood leaders and created a strategic plan for commercial and industrial development in San Leandro.

o A key component of the plan has been the targeting of companies in the green economy to establish operations in San Leandro. These are businesses that manufacture energy conservation systems, produce products for solar power and renewable energy, and promote recycling and environmentally sustainable technologies.

• In 2014, the children and youth of San Leandro are valued when it comes to budget decisions. Services and programs offered for them, such as neighborhood swimming pools and recreational activities, have been maintained and expanded.

• In 2014, a strong and positive relationship exists between the city and both school districts.

o The city provides direct financial support for the arts, music and other student programs. This funding has allowed our schools to keep valued programs that many other school districts have had to eliminate due to cutbacks from Sacramento.

• In 2014, a new culture of open, honest dialogue and transparency exists between City Hall and the community.

o City council meetings are videotaped. The videos are accessible through the new information-rich and user-friendly city website.

o The mayor and city manager have their own blogs on the website, updating the community on civic matters and answering questions.

o The city conducts community forums for the public to provide meaningful input on key decisions before they are made.

• In 2014, San Leandro is regarded as a model for diverse cities in California.

o The mayor and city council work with all groups in the community to identify and solve problems.

o Residents with creative ideas for making San Leandro a more vibrant, sustainable community are listened to, encouraged and provided assistance by City Hall in meeting their goals.

o The mayor and city council inspire and empower the community to achieve more.

o A positive, can-do and optimistic spirit exists throughout San Leandro.

This vision of the future of San Leandro can be made real. San Leandro could be one of the most desirable communities in the Bay Area in which to live and raise a family.

How do we achieve this?

First, we have to solve the city budget crisis. It is jeopardizing our safety.

Even though robberies, burglaries and property crimes are widespread, the mayor and city council eliminated six police officer positions. The school crossing guards were cut, then eventually restored, but could be cut again.

The solution to the city budget crisis offered by our Mayor and Vice Mayor is more taxes; specifically they want to raise the sales tax to 10%.

I am opposed. San Leandro would have the highest sales tax in Northern California, hurting the hardest seniors on fixed incomes and families struggling in the recession. A 10% sales tax would also hurt commerce in our city, encouraging shoppers to go elsewhere. It would undermine efforts to attract new businesses to San Leandro.

Now, I’m not an anti-tax crusader. I understand quality services come at a cost. As a school board member I voted to put a parcel tax for student programs on the ballot.

However, I want value for my tax dollar. And I insist upon fiscal accountability. Despite the cuts that have occurred, city spending is actually higher this year than last year. There is no fiscal discipline at City Hall.

I have a better solution than tax increases – first bring city expenses under control. Otherwise, any tax increase next year will not return our city to fiscal health. Further tax increases will be necessary.

City employees work hard and deserve our respect, yet they too will have to do their part to solve the budget crisis, starting at the top. As mayor, I will not take a salary until the budget deficit is eliminated.

When I say that, do not assume my family could not use the pay. We could. Like you, we have many expenses. My wife Amy thought I was crazy when I first proposed this idea to her.

Leadership is by example. If the mayor will not make any sacrifices, neither will any city employee.

To create a better San Leandro, next we have to revive the local economy.

I will apply my knowledge as an attorney and former small business owner to support business in San Leandro and bring new companies here, with a focus on the rapidly growing green economy. That will create quality jobs and generate revenue to rehire police officers, keep our libraries, pools and parks open, maintain services for seniors and fix our streets.

Third, we need City Hall to truly recognize that the welfare of our community and the conditions of our public schools go hand in hand. As a parent and former school board trustee, I know strong schools make a strong city.

I was at the forefront of the campaign to build the new 9th grade campus and performing arts theatre at San Leandro High School.

I will create a positive relationship between our city and schools. As the city budget crisis is solved, this relationship will include a first for San Leandro: direct financial support of valued student programs by the city.

Finally, to create a better San Leandro, we must elect a mayor that offers sound solutions, possesses a record of accomplishment and can look you straight in the eye and say: I will always put the best interests of the people of San Leandro first.

I am the only candidate for Mayor that possesses all three of these qualities.

Will you help me make San Leandro a vibrant, sustainable community with safe neighborhoods and high performing schools?

Thank you for your support.

My campaign for Mayor of San Leandro commences with a kick-off party this Thursday, November 12th, from 7 to 9 p.m., at Zocalo Coffeehouse located at 645 Bancroft Avenue.
I am gratified to already have strong support for my campaign. I look forward to seeing old and new friends and supporters at the kick-off party.
Five years ago I ran for school board on a promise to solve the overcrowding at the high school. I delivered on my promise. When the new 9th grade campus opens next year, the overcrowding will be eliminated.
Today, I am running for mayor to create a better San Leandro.

Based on comments made at the Monday, November 3rd, city council meeting which I attended, the mayor and city council are firmly on the path of placing a sales tax increase on the ballot next June. They may even put a second tax measure on the ballot as the sales tax hike will not cover the city’s projected annual deficits of $6 million in the coming years.

I am opposed because the increase will bring the sales tax in San Leandro to 10%. Our city would have the highest sales tax in Northern California. That is not how our city leadership should be distinguishing San Leandro.

San Leandrans will start shopping outside our city for major purchases. Less consumers from outside San Leandro will buy cars on auto row and purchases goods and services from other San Leandro businesses. Moreover, the sales tax is a regressive tax. An increase hurts working families and seniors on fixed incomes the hardest.

What’s the likelihood a sales tax hike will pass? In 2009 there have been 9 attempts by local governments in California to raise their sales taxes. Seven failed, including 3 of the 5 measures on the ballot yesterday.

Why have sales tax measures done so poorly? One liberal commentator has stated:

Yesterday’s election once again proved that, generally speaking, Californians are quite willing to tax themselves. Not every tax proposal passed, but in an extremely low turnout election (20% in Salinas, for example, a city which saw 80% turnout in November 2008) it’s a sign of how open CA voters are to taxes that nearly 2/3rds of them are headed for approval.

Granted, not every proposal passed. One common theme in yesterday’s election was resistance to using the sales tax as a method of providing for local services. In an election defined by economic populism, voters in Salinas, Ventura, and San Carlos said they did not want a regressive tax to fund key services (though San Mateo and Gustine did pass those taxes). Voters would likely prefer more progressive taxes, those that ask the wealthy to pay their fair share.

Also of note, Newark’s utility user tax measure is failing – barely. It is short by 8 votes. Until all provisional and absentee ballots turned in at poll stations on election day are counted, we won’t know if the tax failed or passed. The 8 vote shortfall (out of 4,128 votes counted so far) does not give one confidence that Alamada County voters are ready to embrace new taxes for local government.

For San Leandro, no Plan B is in the works. The mayor and city council are not actively working to reduce spending. In fact, despite the cuts that have occurred, spending this year exceeds last year. Part of the reason is police officers received 4% pay raises for 2009. The mayor and city council are rolling the dice and placing the fiscal solvency of the city on a successful campaign to increase the sales tax.

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Update:  When all votes were counted, Newark’s utility tax measure lost.

Earlier this year, in a letter to the San Leandro Times, I called for the city council to create a budget advisory committee. The mayor and city council have now done so.

However, instead of creating a budget advisory committee, they created a “budget task force.”

This is an important distinction. The committee should have been given the charge of conducting a comprehensive and meaningful review of the city budget and producing recommendations for resolving the city fiscal crisis, including how savings could be achieved through prudent cost cutting measures. That’s what a budget advisory committee does.

The budget task force created by the mayor and city council is not charged with making such recommendations. It is asked merely to prioritize city programs and services, e.g. which should be cut first or last.

That’s a waste of time of city staff and the residents participating on the task force. The city council already knows from their own interactions with the public, and from the poll recently concluded, what the community values.

What’s occurring is an attempt to create the appearance of public input on the budget crisis when the real agenda is to convince the public to enact tax increases next June. In the meantime, critical issues concerning the budget are not being addressed, and opportunities to save money are being missed.

For another view on what’s taking place see The Citizen.

Stephen Cassidy’s campaign for Mayor of San Leandro commences with a kick-off party Thursday, November 12th, from 7 to 9 p.m., at Zocalo Coffeehouse located at 645 Bancroft Avenue. Cassidy has pledged that he will not take a salary until the city budget deficit is eliminated. The entire community is invited to attend the party and hear Cassidy outline his plans for ending the city’s fiscal crisis and turning our local government around.

“Five years ago I ran for school board on a promise to solve the overcrowding at the high school. I delivered on my promise. When the new 9th grade campus opens next year, the overcrowding will be eliminated,” Cassidy stated. “Today, I am running for mayor to create a better San Leandro .”

“I am gratified to already have strong support for my campaign. I look forward to seeing old and new friends and supporters at the kick-off party,” Cassidy added. “My campaign offers San Leandrans the opportunity to bring positive change to City Hall. I will bring constructive solutions to the challenges facing our city.”

The city’s fiscal crisis is putting the safety of all San Leandrans at risk. In June, the mayor and city council eliminated six police officer positions and all school crossing guards. Despite these and other cuts, city spending has actually gone up in 2009. The city’s deficit is over $4 million this year and expected to climb to $6 million annually in the coming years.

In response, the mayor and city council are planning to raise the sales tax to 10%, which would be the highest sales tax in Northern California . Cassidy has a smarter solution: bring expenses under control.

Learn more about Cassidy’s solutions for San Leandro at www.CassidyforSanLeandro.com RSVP to the kick-off party by sending an email message to support@cassidyforsanleandro.com or calling 510-483-4005.