Business lobby targets Perry, others Business lobby targets Perry, others (January 28, 2005)

Manufacturing group 'deeply troubled' by BART opposition

By Jon Wiener

Mountain View City Council member Greg Perry's opposition to the planned BART-to-San-Jose extension has put him on a short list of public officials being targeted by a group of Silicon Valley businesses.

The Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group (SVMG) sent a letter to Mayor Matt Neely last week encouraging him to replace Perry as the city's representative to the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Policy Advisory Board.

"SVMG's board of directors and member companies are deeply troubled by the actions of a handful of VTA's Policy Advisory Board members, including Council member Perry, who are acting contrary to the views of the vast majority of North County residents and businesses," CEO Carl Guardino wrote in the letter. Guardino said he had vocalized his concerns about Perry and others several times in recent years.

But after a short discussion with Neely on Tuesday, Perry said his post was not in jeopardy.

"It's more a question of me being outspoken than whether it's approved by the council," said Perry.
Perry confident

This is not the first time Perry's opposition to the project has caused political problems for him.

Earlier this month, four of Perry's colleagues on the council broke with an established procedure and denied his bid to become vice mayor. Council member Mike Kasperzak, who nominated Nick Galiotto as vice mayor, said he had heard from Guardino's group and others that Perry had been misrepresenting the council by opposing BART-to-San Jose.

Perry continues to deny the charges about his behavior.

"I've been raising a lot of questions about BART that the manufacturing group, or at least Carl Guardino, don't want asked," said Perry. "But that's what I'm supposed to do."

Most council members, even those who voted against Perry for vice mayor, said they do not expect Neely to rescind his appointment.

"The mayor makes the appointments, and we expect the people assigned to the various commissions to carry out the position of the council," said Galiotto. Other BART opponents targeted

Nearly identical letter to other city councils drew an indignant response from officials and led to claims that the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group is trying to purge the VTA boards of dissent.

"What Carl is essentially requesting from each city council is a puppet that will simply act as a rubber stamp for his personal agenda," said Los Altos Mayor and VTA board member David Casas.

The business coalition, made up of 200 member companies, led the campaign to get voters to approve the BART project, spending $1.5 million to pass the so-called "BART tax" on the 2000 ballot, according to Guardino.

The BART plan suffered several blows in 2004, when the VTA announced it would need another new sales tax to fund it. County leaders have suggested that VTA stop the line in Milpitas or consider the phasing approach as a solution.

Guardino said the main goal of the letters was to ensure that elected officials are representing the will of those they represent. He cited survey results that say BART-to-San-Jose is still a priority for residents throughout the county.

"It is moving forward," Guardino said of the BART extension. "So their actions, from their vantage point, have not been successful and won't be."
E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

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