By Khalida Sarwari
A pair of council members and one planning commissioner are vying for two seats on the Saratoga City Council this fall.
According to city clerk Crystal Bothelio, only three people filed nomination papers by the Aug. 12 deadline for two seats that will be vacated by Manny Cappello and Howard Miller. Both Miller and Cappello plan to run again, and the city’s planning commission chairwoman, Dede Smullen, has also thrown her hat in the ring.
Manny Cappello
Cappello, who is Saratoga’s current mayor, isn’t ready to leave his post on the council just yet. The 53-year-old expressed interest in returning for another term to see initiatives he started this year brought to fruition. Among them are the Village visioning program, the 2,020 trees by 2020 initiative and efforts to establish Saratoga as an “age-friendly” city.
“Those are three major initiatives that I embarked on this year, and I’d like to see them at completion or near completion by the end of my second term,” he said.
The next step in the Village visioning process is to take the results of the citywide survey the city conducted earlier this year and convert the feedback into design guidelines, Cappello said.
A few months ago, Cappello announced a plan to revitalize tree canopies around the city by challenging the city to plant 2,020 trees over the next four years. The impetus, he said, was to undo the damage wreaked on Saratoga’s trees by the drought.
The recent age-friendly designation by the American Association of Retired Persons and World Health Organization was a starting point for the city in its quest to become a community that takes care of its seniors, Cappello said. Now, the city is assessing what programs and services seniors need most.
“For us, it’s transportation,” Cappello said. “As you know, we have very little [public] transportation in Saratoga. Our seniors have no way of getting around. Therefore, they’re forced to move out of their homes. So our most pressing priority is this aspect of providing some sort of transportation solution to these seniors so they can continue aging in their home.”
The city is close to launching a pilot program that Cappello expects will be fully implemented within a year or two.
Cappello serves on the Cities Association executive board, chairs the West Valley Sanitation District board and is vice chair of the Santa Clara County Housing and Community Development Advisory Council. Having a Saratoga representative in those positions places the city in “a more meaningful position in implementing change regionally,” Cappello said.
Prior to being appointed to the council in 2010 to finish out Susie Nagpal’s term, Cappello served six years on the planning commission. Nagpal, who Cappello considered a close friend, died from lung cancer that year. He was elected to the council in 2012.
A graduate of Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and Golden Gate University, he teaches business at De Anza College.
Howard Miller
Miller is in a unique position; the 54-year-old council member and former mayor is nearing the end of his second term and seeking to run a third consecutive time. According to Bothelio, no candidate has filed nomination papers to be elected for a third consecutive term in recent history save for Miller.
While the city does not have term limits, candidates are encouraged to adhere to a 1992 advisory ballot measure passed by Saratoga residents that essentially discourages council members from serving more than two consecutive terms. So, the recently retired Apple exec is counting on the advisory nature of the measure to work in his favor.
“The 1992 advisory ballot measure reserves for the citizens the right to select the most qualified person to represent them,” he said. “So the weight of the measure falls on my shoulders to persuade the citizens that there are good reasons to vote for Howard Miller.”
Miller’s reason for seeking a third term is similar to Cappello’s in that he said he’d like to continue making inroads on projects or initiatives he started years ago. For him, it’s Highway 85 noise mitigation efforts, the Saratoga-to-the-sea trail at Quarry Park and the Silicon Valley Clean Energy Authority’s initiative to offer 100 percent carbon-free electricity to residents and businesses next year.
“I think the real big picture is that I’ve gained extensive experience and that experience can help build our momentum on these issues,” he said.
Miller, who serves on a VTA policy advisory board, has been actively pushing for noise mitigation on Highway 85 for years. His suggestion earlier this year to allocate funding from a 30-year half-cent sales tax measure for noise abatement along 85 and to study transportation alternatives that include light rail was met with unanimous support from the full VTA board but now rests in the hands of voters.
There are other, smaller projects he’d like to advance upon as well, said Miller, such as the Guava Court Fredericksburg Trail. The city is in the middle of negotiating the reopening of a crossing at the trail, he said.
Miller retired in June following a 23-year career at Apple where he worked in the imaging division. He holds a degree in electronic engineering from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and a master’s in computer science from Stanford University.
Dede Smullen
Smullen, 50, is nearing the end of her fourth year on the planning commission. In April, she was appointed chairwoman. Now she’s ready to take the next step in her career and believes her experience working in different jurisdictions and with various interest groups and bringing those groups together to solve problems is her strongest asset, along with her listening skills.
“Saratoga needs a fresh perspective to address the issues that will face us in the coming years,” she said. “Being a good listener is essential to being a good council member, and public participation in the decision-making process is essential to building community.”
In fact, “listen first” will be her mantra if she is elected to the council, Smullen said. Among her priorities as a council member would be to address residents’ concerns, promote a strong sense of community, protect the city’s open spaces and historic buildings and support a vibrant business climate, Smullen said.
“Saratoga is a jewel in the Bay Area and worth protecting,” she said.
Smullen earned a degree in environmental policy analysis and planning from UC-Davis and has worked as an environmental planner and planning consultant. She served as co-president on the Foothill Elementary School parent teacher association in 2014-15.
On the planning commission, she has helped draft new residential design guidelines and was involved in updating the city’s housing and noise General Plan elements.
She is holding a campaign kick-off event on Sept. 10 at the Warner Hutton House. The program will be held from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. and is open to the public.
Link:
Saratoga: Two incumbents, one planning commissioner running for city council
