Guest Opinion Guest Opinion (September 10, 2004)

Candidate responds to questions about mailer

By Margaret Abe-Koga

I would like to respond to the article in the Sept. 3 Voice titled "Mailer draws fire," regarding my "Education Status Report" sent to residents in early August. Because of several misconceptions and inaccuracies stated in the article, I feel that I need to set the record straight.

I would first like to reiterate that the mailer did not refer to or make any mention of my campaign for city council.

The mailer highlighted my accomplishments, as well as those of my fellow trustees, and provided a status report on the education budget for the Santa Clara County Office of Education for the 2004-2005 school year. The untold story of this year's state budget is that the education community took a $2-billion hit statewide. However, since sending the mailer, I am pleased to report that the county Office of Education will be receiving a bit more funding than originally anticipated.

My sole responsibility as the elected trustee representing Area 1 on the Santa Clara County Board of Education is to be accessible and provide information to my constituents. The Fair Political Practices Commission states that once elected, office holders can use left over campaign funds for office holder expenses of political, legislative, or governmental purposes. Therefore, I wanted to use the remaining funds from my 2002 campaign for the county Board of Education to communicate with my constituents and provide them with an update. Unfortunately, the limited amount of funds I had available was not sufficient to reach every household in my district and only allowed me to contact my core constituents.

I have already received positive feedback from those who felt that the "Education Status Report" provided them with important information that they would not have otherwise received.

I would also like to report that I fully intend to report to both the city and county the expense of the mailer as part of my 2002 county expenses. I am in the process of completing this filing for the next statement period due Oct. 5, 2004, as the expenditure was made after the last statement period closed on June 30, 2004.

Now, as a candidate for city council, I look forward to engaging with the community in a dialogue about the pertinent issues facing our city and to sharing my vision for Mountain View.

Margaret Abe-Koga is a candidate for Mountain View City Council.

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