Pear ready to take the helm Pear ready to take the helm (January 09, 2004)

Native Mountain View resident will become next mayor

By Julie O'Shea

Sitting in the living room of his Ortega Avenue home -- built on the same land where his grandparents grew apricots, cherries and pumpkins decades ago -- Matt Pear smiles when asked if he's nervous about taking the mayoral oath next week.

The 45-year-old independent consultant grew up in Mountain View. His roots are here, and he says he can think of no greater honor than to become the next top politico of a city he has watched shed its small-town atmosphere to become a domineering force on the mid-Peninsula.

After serving as vice mayor in 2003, Pear is slated to be tapped as Mountain View's next mayor during the Jan. 13 City Council meeting, which starts at 6:30 p.m. Matt Neely, the top vote-getter in the 2002 council election, is in line to become vice mayor.

"I want to reach out to those who don't attend (council) meetings, to be there when they least expect it," Pear said. Exactly what that will entail is still up in the air; however, Pear has promised to reinstate traditional office hours for the year he holds the largely ceremonial post.

"There will be very much a presence," Pear said. "It will go further than 'Mocha with the Mayor,'" citing Mike Kasperzak's occasional community outings when he was mayor in 2003.

Mocha with Matt, perhaps? Pear, who is up for re-election in November, pushes that question aside with a hearty laugh.

As it turns out, there are more pressing issues on Pear's mind these days than iced lattes like, for instance, the city budget and business relations, which Pear sees as interrelated.

"I've never seen as many vacancies as I do now," Pear said. "Everything has a cycle. I am very concerned about where we are headed in Mountain View."

Pear -- a strong advocate of the butterfly effect, which stipulates that issues facing countries half a world away will somehow have a direct impact on Mountain View -- stresses that city officials need to pay close attention to what's happening in, say, India.

Mountain View needs to reach out to small businesses, which are essentially the city's "economic engine." City leaders, Pear said, will have to work together to answer difficult questions: Where will this year's cuts be made and how can Mountain View build bridges between City Hall and the business community?

"You should be self-sufficient," he said. "You always want to keep something for a rainy day."

As mayor, Pear said he'd like to take a more critical look at the new taxes facing voters in 2004, including a $1.6 million parcel tax for the Mountain View-Whisman School District, a $12.3 billion statewide education bond and a $15 billion "recovery" bond measure, all set to appear on the March 2 ballot.

"You have to look at the overall context," and how it will impact the entire community, Pear said, explaining that each tax measure hitting this year's ballot boxes should be carefully analyzed and the finds should be made available to the public long before voters have to make a final decision.

"Who would do that analysis? I'm not sure if that should be a city resource," Pear said, pointing instead to the California League of Cities.

"You really need to look at everything," Pear said.

Another issue that promises to weigh heavily on 2004, Pear anticipates, will be the continuing challenge of affordable housing. But Pear said he doesn't want to see any new complexes towering higher than four stories.

"I don't want to see the charm and character of Mountain View diminish with high-density housing," he said. "You don't want to become a Manhattan here."

First elected to the council in 2000 after spending a year on the city's Environmental Planning Commission, Pear, who graduated from Stanford with a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering and later from UC Berkeley with an MBA, said he has no long-term political aspirations.

Unmarried, Pear shares his home with a stray cat named Max, who, while not allowed inside, does indeed have his own sheepskin mat out back. ("I don't like cats all that much," Pear lamented. "I'm more of a dog person.")

E-mail Julie O'Shea at joshea@mv-voice.com

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