This year’s election does not include a presidential race but nonetheless voters have plenty of reasons to go to the polls besides the propositions.
Both the 11th and 10th Congressional District congressional seats are being contested, with U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo (R., Stockton) in a hot race against challenger Jerry McNerney, a Democrat from Pleasanton; and U.S. Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D., Alamo) defending her seat against challenger Darcy Linn. Republican State Assemblyman Guy Houston is facing a challenge by Danville resident Terry Coleman to represent the 15th District. Another Danville man, Ralph Hoffman, is also running to be a board member of the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District.
The Danville Weekly, however, is focusing on the races for Danville Town Council (three candidates, including two incumbents, running for two seats) and the school board of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District (four, including two incumbents, running for three seats).
Council candidate Mike Shimansky
Age: 62
Education: San Jose State, 1964-66
Experience: Retired manager at pacific Bell; Danville Parks Commssioner, 1985-89; Town Council member since 1989
Mike Shimansky, who has been in office since 1989, is proud of his role as a “maverick,” someone not afraid to be the lone opposing vote. But, he noted, he isn’t being negative, he is expressing his opinion.
He said he brings history to the position, recalling that his year as mayor in 1993 was hectic as he dealt with scandals, such as a stripper attending a party with town officials.
“Now I have taken a giant step to be on regional committees,” he said, including the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the County Hazardous Materials Commission and the Central County Solid Waste Authority.
“I’m just getting rejuvenated,” he said.
He is also on the All Wars Memorial board and the Boy Scouts executive board as well as officiating for lacrosse, track and soccer. He worked for the Red Cross in the Gulf immediately following Hurricane Katrina and said he also is interested in the homeless.
He is proud of the physical things the council has accomplished during his 17 years: parks and artificial turf fields, the library and the community center on Front Street. And he is proud of the town now being in great financial shape. He is also proud that he has never missed a Town Council meeting.
“I enjoy my time on council,” he said. “I take the job seriously but I don’t take myself seriously.”
He said he is running a low budget campaign and is learning a lot from walking the precincts.
Vision for downtown
He’d like to keep it the way it is, as “small town” as possible. He does not want it to be like San Ramon or Dublin “with neon lights all over the place.”
Danville territories
He’d be receptive to a project that includes parking, retail and condos, saying living where one works is a good concept. Offhand, he would say no to a small chain and is definitely against McDonalds or another Starbucks.
Main points
Keep Danville a safe community and a “small town”; enhance parks; fiscal common sense
Council candidate Karen Stepper
Age: 59
Education: Bachelor’s degree in education, University of Illinois; MBA in taxation Cal State Hayward
Experience: CPA practice in Bishop Ranch; Town Council 2002-present; school board 1979-83 and 1985-90
Karen Stepper, who currently serves in the rotating position of mayor, is completing her first four-year term on the Town Council.
As mayor, she has worked toward regional relationships and attended the U.S. Conference of Mayors as a unit with the four other Tri-Valley mayors. She also promoted Danville’s inclusion in the Tri-Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau. She was instrumental in starting the Exchange Club of the San Ramon Valley, which has set up Freedom Shrines in some of the schools.
Stepper made it a priority to join the Contra Costa Transportation Authority, where she was a commissioner in 2004 and is currently an alternate. “We have to show that we have a need,” she said, and people must realize how transporting goods affects the 680 corridor. Stepper was active two years ago in the passage of Measure J, continuing a half-cent sales tax to improve the county Transportation Expenditure Plan.
Her background as director of the Mustang Soccer League and nine years on the school board have been invaluable, she said, in helping the school district and town partner to develop fields. She lost her re-election bid for the school board in 1990.
Stepper also brings to the council her experiences of living in Danville for 32 years. “I believe I can feel the pulse of the community,” she said. Her CPA experience, she said, has helped the town produce balanced budgets during the last four years.
She noted that other progress during her four years included incentives to help preserve historical buildings and downtown zoning to encourage redevelopment. She also prides herself on being accessible.
Vision for downtown
Town Council needs to work to keep Danville like it is, which is what people like. “I want a walking downtown.”
Danville territories
It would be good to have stores that will bring people in.
Main points
Traffic/transportation issues; parks for youths and seniors; economy and heritage resources
Council candidate Robert Storer
Age: 49
Education: Bachelor’s in construction management, Cal State Hayward
Experience: Builder/contractor; Danville Planning Commission 2000-present
Candidate Robert Storer’s passions include seniors, youth, special populations and planning. As a co-owner of Pelligrini Construction, he put his actions where his heart is a few years back and developed Willow Common Apartments, 22 units to house low and moderate income seniors and developmentally disabled young adults in downtown Danville.
Now, after serving on the Planning Commission since 2000, he wants to bring his experience to the Town Council. “My strong land-use background would be invaluable,” he said.
He said he feels relationships within the community are paramount, and the council should embrace the school board. “A friendly disposition goes a long way,” he said.
He has relationships within the business community and Discover Danville, which could lead to partnering, he said. For example, he thought more could have been done when the LPGA was at Blackhawk recently. “LPGA brought people downtown but we should have had a caddy dinner,” he suggested. He is also on the board of directors for Leadership San Ramon Valley.
He said he is interested in history; another priority is to improve traffic around schools. He also noted Danville spent $70,000 to prop up the Oak Tree and said it needs to spend money on seniors and teens.
Storer is canvassing the neighborhoods, along with his wife and two teenage sons. He is also an avid cyclist, a recovery diver for the Sheriff’s Department and is proud that his homemade wine under the Pellegrini Vineyards label won a silver medal at the Alameda County Fair.
He said his personal and professional life have always been about results, and this is why he wants to serve on the Town Council.
Vision for downtown
Need pedestrian friendly walkways and reasons for people to come downtown. Wants to improve North Hartz Avenue.
Danville territories
Supports underground parking and commercial/retail mixed use. Downtown needs more boutiques to draw people to those already in place.
Main points
Traffic safety at schools; seniors, veterans needs; teen activities
School board candidate Joan Buchanan
Age: 53
Education: Bachelor’s economics UC Santa Barbara
Experience: Former director of operations division for Delta Dental; school board 1990-present
Alamo resident Joan Buchanan brings a wealth of knowledge from her experience in business, being a parent of five, and her tenure on the school board.
“I still have a great passion for education and children,” she said, noting that she was the first in her family to graduate from high school. “The public school system is the cornerstone of democracy.”
Buchanan has served on the school board since 1990. During her 16 years, she has helped the district move through a financial crisis, deal with a recall election, build new school facilities, negotiate labor contracts with teachers and employees, and develop budgets.
Though the district has made substantial achievements, she believes it can do better. Meeting the needs of all students, dealing with overcrowding in schools, recruiting and retaining qualified employees, and finishing all Measure A projects are her top priorities if she is re-elected to the board.
Buchanan is a San Francisco native and said she followed her boyfriend to UC Santa Barbara to study economics, not a method of choosing colleges she recommended to her children. In her 20s, she worked as an underwriter for Delta Dental and moved quickly up the ranks despite dealing with a glass ceiling for women in the workplace. She eventually became a department director at Delta Dental.
She retired from her business profession and devoted her energies to the PTA and then the school board when first elected in 1990. Developing legislation for the school district was one of her first tasks in the district.
Special education
She wants to use Total Quality Management principles to improve the individual education process and help educators catch children who have special needs at an early age. “I think we need to do a better job.”
Money for Measure A projects:
The Measure A Oversight Committee needs to develop a five-year facilities plan for the district that includes prioritizing the projects and evaluating the student capacities and needs of all schools. Supports a parcel tax if there is no significant increase in state funding.
San Ramon Valley High School parking:
Supports building a parking garage
School board candidate Bill Clarkson
Age: 54
Education: Bachelor’s political science and MBA, San Jose State
Experience: Realtor in San Ramon Valley for 29 years; school board 1998-present
Sound fiscal policy, finishing all Measure A projects, and creating better customer service are ideas Bill Clarkson brings to the table, he said.
“We need to train employees with people skills that are friendly and collaborative instead of being overly assertive and overly aggressive,” Clarkson said, adding that he enjoys the board’s process of decision-making.
Because of the district’s overall success, he believes it allows the board to focus on securing a long-term parcel tax, which supports the growth of new schools and the reduction of overcrowding in the San Ramon Valley.
“Our district is doing so many things right that it allows us to focus on issues that many school districts only dream about handling,” he said.
The district will fall $10 million to $20 million short of completing all Measure A projects or approximately 5 percent short of its construction goals, Clarkson said. Beginning to lay the groundwork to renew the parcel tax soon by vote will help provide money to finish the projects, he said.
“If the first vote fails, we continue to try again,” he said.
Additionally, having more library services and counselors available to students is another goal the district could reach, he noted.
Clarkson, a San Ramon resident, originally hails from Oakland. He enjoys talking about numbers, business, management and history. As a school board member since 1998, he has helped complete many of the Measure A projects.
Additionally, he loves the challenge of making projects happen with limited spending and a tight budget.
He is a firm believer that having relationships in a community gets things done. He brings his real estate background to the board, and said he does not believe in micromanaging employees.
Special Education
Train employees to behave friendlier and maintain a cooperative demeanor. “We can be courteous and diplomatic.”
Money for Measure A projects
Supports renewing the parcel tax to pay for school renovations
San Ramon Valley High School parking
Has been involved in talks with Danville Town Councilwoman Candace Anderson about coming up with ideas to make more parking spaces available for students.
School board candidate Rachel Hurd
Age: 42
Education: Bachelor’s mechanical engineering UC Davis
Experience: Former manager McDonnell Douglas Corp.; PTA Council president
Because her three children attend school in the district, Rachel Hurd sees herself as a breath of fresh air to the board, she said. None of the current members has children in the district.
Literacy is her passion, she said, because it is necessary to succeed in all subjects. She wants all children tested in kindergarten for dyslexia so those diagnosed with the condition could be tutored and be performing at grade level by the second grade. “That would make the hugest difference,” she said, to address the problem upfront, preventing years of some students struggling.
If elected, Hurd, a San Ramon resident, would bring Total Quality Management to measure and improve academic success. Gathering and analyzing test scores to find weaknesses and trends would enhance education, she said.
She believes attracting and retaining quality teachers should be a district priority.
“The district needs to offer competitive wages and benefits to the extent that a ‘low wealth’ district can and continue to provide a work environment where employees feel valued, challenged, and find intrinsic satisfaction in their work,” she said.
Hurd has been president of the San Ramon Valley Council of PTAs and felt running for the school board was the next logical step.
“I’m a good listener,” Hurd said, noting that she has a child in special education. “I’m a good team player.”
She said her experience working at McDonnell Douglas as an engineer for seven years – where she was involved in research, managing, writing reports and budget development – would make her an asset to the board.
Special Education
Supports intervention programs. Include parents in the decision-making process in the child’s individual educational program by having the district be open about service and placement options.
Money for Measure A projects
Requests doing a hierarchy list or a decision matrix to see what projects need funding. If a parcel tax is needed, she would support it.
San Ramon Valley High School Parking
She noted the high school is a landlocked property with limited options to increase parking.
School board candidate James McVay
Age: 43
Education: Bachelor’s engineering and master’s metallurgical engineering University of Pittsburgh; master’s in material science, University of Michigan
Experience: Superintendent, chief metallurgist for Tesoro Corp.
San Ramon resident James McVay – a metallurgist – sees himself “outside the beltway.” He wants to bring in new ideas to the board and make sure all students in the district receive opportunities.
McVay has three children in the district, including one in special education and another one who is gifted. “We need to give all kids the education,” he said. “I care very much for my children, and the children in this district.”
He said that if elected, he would strive to provide permanent funding for critical school programs currently funded by the 2004 Measure A parcel tax. The parcel tax would fund school counselors, libraries, instrumental music and remaining Measure A projects.
He wants to improve the technology curriculum and also supports maintaining reasonable consistency in education in classrooms throughout the district.
“I would also suggest looking at some other out-of-state programs to make sure our California standards oriented district programs are enough to keep our children ‘first-in-line’ wherever they go and whatever endeavor they pursue,” he said.
“Where do we stand in the nation?” he wondered. “We need to go to the next level.”
Concerning testing, he raised concerns that the district may focus on students in the middle who have a chance of doing better on the Academic Performance Index, neglecting those students who will pass with flying colors as well as those who would need much more help.
In addition, he wants a system to measure the district’s performance. “We need to identify what the customer wants,” he said. “The end game is what students have when they leave high school.”
Special education
Better communication is needed. Parents and school officials need to develop trust and have an open dialogue. Services to special education students need to be delivered on time.
Money for Measure A projects
Supports a parcel tax to continue funding Measure A Projects
San Ramon Valley High School parking
Supports building a two- or three-level garage to alleviate parking issues
