Matt Neely: the energetic youth leader Matt Neely: the energetic youth leader (October 18, 2002)

By Bill D'Agostino

The first word used to describe Matt Neely is almost always "energetic."

It's easy to see why. Neely -- an assistant principal at Mountain View High School -- brims with enthusiasm over the prospect of being a council member.

"I want to expand my service," Neely said. "I enjoy it, I like the process of crafting good ideas and making things happen and I think I can do it for a wider audience."

In addition to his school work, Neely has also been on the Chamber of Commerce board and last year was a Coro fellow, in order to learn more about government policy. "The broader the audience, the thornier the issues are and I like that," he said. "I think I touch constituencies that are maybe less represented by the current council and certainly by the current slate of candidates."

Not too surprisingly, given his background as a teacher, Neely -- a co-chair of the Diversity Youth Forum -- also wants to bring young people's issues to the forefront.

His biggest issue is trying to help solve the imbalance in the amount of jobs and housing in the area. He wants to create more high density housing by, for instance, considering more city-built low income housing projects.

Being a candidate -- and listening to other candidates' views -- had already changed Neely's opinions by his August interview. "It's forcing me to the center more," the life-long Democrat said.

Neely, 32, noted that he, unlike some candidates, doesn't believe the city should stop creating jobs, just that it needs to help build housing to go along with those jobs.

A renter, Neely also wants greater rights for renters. "Renters need protection," he said. "I've lived in three apartments in 14 months. My rent has increased every time. I've been priced out every time."

Downtown is generally going in the right direction, with new parking being built and high-but-not-too-high buildings, Neely said, but he would like to see it expanded down Moffett boulevard.

Neely grew up in Eugene, Oregon. When he was 11, he moved to Oakland to live with his father. He got a B.A. in history in 1991, and subsequently got a Masters in Education from Stanford.

After teaching social studies for a year at Mountain View High School, Neely got additional credentials to become an English teacher, the only open permanent position at the school.

He began rising up the ranks to the administrative level in 1997. Over the course of three summers, he went back to Stanford to get another masters degree, this time in policy and analysis. He became assistant vice principal three years ago.

Neely said one of the big reasons he decided to run for council was the lack of civil discussion within last year's council. To address this, he also was one of the founders of the Mountain View Civic Forum, a group that meets monthly to discuss city politics.

"Dialogue wasn't occurring at the responsible, progressive, thoughtful level that had characterized the city for so long," Neely said. "I really felt compelled to do something."
Favorite Book: "The Red and the Black," by Stendhal. "I wrote a paper on this book in eleventh grade English and it cemented the relationship between me and my mentor ... my eleventh grade English teacher, who sort of sits on my shoulder every night and tells me what to do as a teacher and educator. It's more than the book, it's about the relationship we created."