VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

By Bertha Hall Sanchez

I want to serve the people of San Mateo City. I have no hidden agenda of wanting to run for a higher office in the future. Quality of Life issues are important to all our residents.

I have a long history of service to our city, over 30 years. I am a sixty year resident of San Mateo and I continue to live here because I believe in the goodness of our community. For many years, I have encourage residents to participate in our civic process. Participation and communication are keys to more citizen involvement in what will happen in our city which affects our Quality of Life issues. Many people have complained that our city leaders and commissions have already made up their mind about major development and projects by the time it gets to general public hearing. This perception must change by including an understandable public process about development and projects in general.

As a planning commissioner, I was not afraid to ask the tough questions which were needed in order to make a development/project more realistic. I do this because of my commitment of service to our people and not to the developers. Many people are concern about the rapid developments that have occurred recently and worry about what is coming down the road. I believe in growth, but reasonable growth that will allow our city to develop in an orderly manner.

As your Council representative, I would work on consensus building. I would not be afraid to ask tough questions. I would listen to what our citizens are saying and get appropriate answers before making any decisions. More resident participation in our community process is one of my goals, so they, you, won't feel left out.

I have no hidden agenda of wanting to run for a higher office in the future. During my term, I would concentrate and listen to the current concerns and needs of our residents and our city and would give my all to work towards this goal. While I welcome the support of everyone, I am not beholden to anyone or any special interest group. This I can promise you. Electing a city council member should be a NON-PARTISAN event and not one along party lines.