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After an effort in 2006 to raise City Council pay to $1,500 a month failed by 700 votes, Measure A is another effort to boost pay — this time to a more modest $1,000 a month — in what’s been called an effort to make being a council member more attractive to working people.
In discussions over the last year, council members have complained that working people could never serve on the council, given the $600 a month members are paid now; that amount, they say, is less than minimum wage. It amounts to $5 an hour, given the 30 hours a week council members say they work, on average. Raising it to $1,000 a month would equal $8.30 an hour, still below minimum wage in California (now $9 an hour).
There has been no organized group of opponents to the pay raise. Mountain View attorney and longtime resident Gary Wesley wrote the ballot argument against Measure A. He notes that if there’s a shortage of candidates due to low pay, it’s not evident in this year’s council race, with nine candidates running for three open seats.
Wesley says the measure fails to note the other benefits of being a council member, which include health benefits, expense accounts, travel reimbursements, and stipends for attending regional board meetings. He adds that the benefits also include the ability to restrict housing supply and approve office space. That benefits all of the current members because they own homes that have presumably gone up in value because of the city’s housing shortage, he says.
“In approving more and more office space in Mountain View, the council has contributed to the increased demand for housing in the city. Partly as a result, the price of the houses in Mountain View has skyrocketed. All seven members of the current City Council are homeowners. They are benefiting handsomely,” Wesley wrote in a recent op-ed.
In this year’s race, there are three renters in the running for a council seat who also work full-time jobs: Ellen Kamei, Mercedes Salem and Jim Neal. The measure would allow more such candidates to serve, proponents say. The current council is made up of two retirees, two business owners, a business executive and two who have been supported by their spouses.
“Mountain View deserves a diverse, well-balanced council that is accessible to all residents, not just candidates who can afford to serve,” says the rebuttal to the argument against Measure A, signed by Joan McDonald, resident and community volunteer, Mayor Chris Clark and Oscar Garcia, CEO of the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce.
The measure would also automatically raise council pay every year based on a formula reflecting inflation, not to exceed 5 percent a year. It also allows council members to be absent from regular meetings with the consent of the council for official duties without being docked $25, the current practice.
Council pay was last raised by voters in 1984, to $500 a month, which would equal $1,137 today if adjusted for inflation. It was later raised automatically to $600 a month when the city’s population hit 75,000 people — the maximum automatic increase allowed for Mountain View under state law for charter cities, based on population growth. The measure does not change the city’s charter amendment, which requires council pay raises to be approved by voters.
A survey of City Council salaries in nearby cities found that the cities of Palo Alto and Campbell pay council members similarly to Mountain View. Paying half of Mountain View’s salary or less are Los Altos, Morgan Hill, Saratoga, Los Gatos and Los Altos Hills. Paying council members more per month are Cupertino ($730), Sunnyvale ($1,982), Santa Clara ($812), Milpitas ($861), Gilroy ($729) and San Jose ($10,583).
Most also pay mayors a bonus — Mountain View pays an additional $100 a month to its mayor – along with offering medical and dental benefits for all members, as does Mountain View.
Jim Neal’s “pollyanna” civic duty stance opposing the proposed pay raise for City Council members rings just a bit too much like a rather transparent “smooze” for votes. It’s soooo PC that it is suspect to me.
“I’M SUCH A GOOD GUY!” … just doesn’t sit right somehow.
I could be wrong but I’m really disappointed by it. The really good people in public life never ever brag about it. Sounds so trite and rather petty somehow and I bet I’ll remember it when I vote.
I’m voting for Jim NEAL because he’s REAL.
Albeit sometimes I am disappointed with his perspective and I understand the sentiment expressed by the previous blogger, but I don’t think Neal is pulling the wool over anyone’s eyes.
Greg Coladonato also wears his beliefs on his shirt sleeve – I just wish he’d run for council rather than the school board.
@ Maher
I was at the city council when they where speaking about the raise for the city councilors and remember Jim Neal saying the same thing to them , I’ m sure you can find the video of that meeting in the city website archives !
Jim wrote:
“As far as diversity goes, the Council has not seemed to want to do very much in that regard as there are no Hispanics on the current council and there has never been a single Black person on the council.”
Jim, it’s the voters that choose the council. MV doesn’t have many black citizens, so the pool of potential candidates is relatively small. Regardless, as our president has proven, it doesn’t matter your skin color, you need only be a candidate that garners the most votes. I don’t think MV (residents or council) cares about skin color. They care about ideas and yes, presentation. You put yourself out there as a nonconformer. You wear clothing that is more traditional in other parts of the country. Your photo on all of your signs show you with your arms crossed, body language for “I’m closed to you.” I have a child, who when I drive by, asks why your signs look like “buildings” and that you’re always “higher” than the other signs. I asked him if he likes the signs and “Not really” was the response. I didn’t press as to why. I hope you don’t think I’m asking you to change (I hope you don’t!) but you do have to realize that these choices have consequences. I’m sure a number of people will leap to your defense and say how much they like you because of it. Great. But it’s also likely it resulted in fewer votes (no data, just a hunch) in the last election.
If you happen to not come in the top 3 this election, I pray that you don’t think it’s because the color of your skin, your ethnicity, or any other superficial criteria. I think just being a candidate (twice!) says something about your character. But if you do lose, then you may want to take stock that either your approach, your message, or your ideas are the reason folks didn’t vote for you in sufficient numbers. I wish you well and good luck in the election. There are some really decent candidates who all seem well intended and will likely represent MV positively. Speaking personally, you won’t get my vote because you are too libertarian for me (plastic bags, smoking, containers, etc). But I respect you because you care about the city. That much is clear.
KMVT 15 recently hosted a Measure A Debate between Gary Wesley and Mike Kasperzak. You can watch it Sundays at 5 p.m. on cable channel 15,AT&T U-Verse and on Roku.
KMVT 15 has added an additional viewing opportunity for the Measure A Debate between Gary Wesley and Mike Kasperzak. The program can be viewed Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m. on cable channel 15, AT&T U-Verse and Roku.
KMVT 15 has now posted the Measure A Debate between Gary Wesley and Mike Kasperzak to YouTube http://bit.ly/1r4g7qp.
I disagree completely with the premise that it is the amount of pay that prevents working people from serving on the City Council. Instead, it is more the fact that the Council meets far more often than is necessary and that its members also have obligations to other regional organizations.
There is also the fact that it is very hard to break through if you are someone who has a full time job because it is very difficult to make the time to schmooze with all the special interests that provide funding and services for the many of the campaigns.
Even if I did not have a full time job, or was wealthy or drawing upon multiple pensions, I still would not accept any special interest endorsements. Mountain View is a still a relatively small town, and as the council is not a county, state or federal body, I see no reason why outside interests should be involved at all.
That is the reason that my campaign is 100% financed by Mountain View residents only, and supported by Mountain View residents and small business owners.
I am against any raise for Council members because I believe that it is a civic duty and not a job. Council is a voluntary position where one asks the voters “let me represent you”. No one is forced to be on the Council.
I disagree with Wesley, though that the “benefits” are a reason to run for Council. Those of us that work already have comparable or superior benefits through our employers. Those that do not are generally well off enough that the benefits don’t make a difference. The only benefit I care about is being able to make decisions that prevent low to middle income people from getting kicked out of their homes and paid a ‘relocation fee’ to go live somewhere else!
As far as diversity goes, the Council has not seemed to want to do very much in that regard as there are no Hispanics on the current council and there has never been a single Black person on the council. The EPC is also ethnically challenged and Council has failed to appoint qualified minority candidates there as well.
If we expect to see more diversity, Council will have to do a far better job of reaching out to communities of color and making sure they have opportunities at all levels of committees and commissions; particularly the EPC which everyone knows is one of the primary stepping stones to city council.
Jim Neal
Candidate, Mountain View City Council
https://electneal.org (campaign website)
@Peter – Thanks for your comments and the opportunity to extend my thoughts on the matter. I know that the voters decide who is on the Council, but my main point is that being a member of the EPC gives one a huge advantage (Note that 3 EPC members are running for Council this year) and is just one step below the Council itself. The Council chooses who is on the EPC and in effect is choosing some future candidates for the Council itself. While I understand that the pool of Black people may be small, we certainly have a significant Hispanic community here and I stand by my statement that the Council needs to do a much better job of reaching out to both communities to encourage their participation in city government. Just because a group is a small minority is no reason to ignore them.
As far as my message, I was the first candidate to talk about the need for Smart and Balanced growth, Affordable Housing, Preserving Neighborhood, Saving the Milk Pail, and Parking and Traffic as the major issues of the campaign, and it is now the same one that all the other candidates are using, so I think my message is pretty good.
As far as how I dress, not everyone likes everything. I can say that most of the kids, teens and twenty-somethings that I have met have been very impressed with how I dress. The see me as someone who has his own ideas, is independent, and stands out from the crowd.
As far as the height of my signs, the person who puts them out was on vacation when the time to put the signs out arrived, so many other candidates were able to place their signs first. I did not want to block visibility for their signs, nor have my signs obscured by theirs, so we had to put them higher and it worked because your son saw it.
Lastly, if I don’t come it the top 3, I don’t think it will be because of my skin color. The voters are looking for the best three candidates and so it is up to me to make sure that they are just as aware of my ideas as they are of how I dress. That is why I have been writing articles, speaking out at council meetings, and walking neighborhoods and the response has been very good so far. You sound like a very open minded person and I hope you will reconsider your vote. Feel free to drop by 1057 West Dana St if you would like to discuss any city or campaign related issues. Again, thanks very much for your comments.
Jim Neal
Candidate, Mountain View City Council
https://electneal.org ( Campaign Website )