June 2006 SLCAN Candidate Questionaire

Responses from Marcene D. Nardine,
candidate for San Leandro Mayor

SLCAN asked each of the candidates to complete a questionnaire and were informed that their responses would be posted on our web site. Candidates responded to the questionnaire by electronic mail. Except for formatting, SLCAN has not modified the candidate's responses.

A. Experience and History

1. How long have you lived in San Leandro?

I have lived in San Leandro 32 years. I am the 3rd of 4 generations to live in San Leandro.

2. What is your current job and place of work, if any?

I am the Assistant Vice President Financial Sales Manager for City National Bank.
City National Bank is located here in San Leandro (1100 San Leandro Blvd., Suite 100, San Leandro, CA 94577)

3. What community, professional and/or advocacy groups are you a member of?

I am a member of Eastern Star Golden Wave Chapter, San Leandro. I am a Majority member of The International Order of Rainbow for Girls Eden Assembly, San Leandro. I am a member of the Ronald C. Kaufman 100 Club of Alameda County. I am also a Personal Member of the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce. My employer is also a member of the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce which allows me to be a business member.

4. Are you a member of a political party and, if so, which one?

Democrat

5. In a one sentence answer, why are you running for office?

I am running for the Office of Mayor in order to continue to give back to the community in which I have been raised, work in, and live in, and raise my family. I am running for office to continue to provide a vision and leadership for the next generations to come.

6. What are your relevant skills, experience, or education that qualifies you?

I am running for the Office of Mayor in order to continue to give back to the community in which I have been raised, work in, and live in, and raise my family. I am running for office to continue to provide a vision and leadership for the next generations to come.

7. [current office holders] What are the top five accomplishments of your time in office?

I am part of the team for the San Leandro Office of City National Bank that received the Branch of the Year award for the entire company. I have served on the General Plan for the City of San Leandro which set the tone and the vision for the Current City Council to the year 2015. I have been an active volunteer and Advisor for the International Order of Rainbow for Girls Eden Assembly, San Leandro. I am a member of Eastern Star, Chamber of Commerce, and 100 Club of Alameda County. One of my biggest accomplishments--that is the most important to me is my son, Jacob.

B. Goals

8. What are your top 3 priorities and what resources/programs would you advance to support them?

  • 1. Fiscal Responsibility
    increase reserves
    continue to maintain and increase reserves with economic changes
  • 2. Health Welfare Responsibility
    Police and Fire Services increase and maintain as the City continues to grow
    Continue to build on relationships with our Non-Profit organizations to assist with those that need our help and services the most
  • 3. Quality of life responsibility
    Quality Affordable Housing not just for the low income but for the middle income earners as well.
    Clean and vibrant downtown and shopping areas, parks, etc. We all must be able to enjoy the community that we live in and be proud of ti.

9. Do you have any big ideas/visions for the future of the city?

To improve opportunities with our schools to meet the desires of our community which is to once again have top ranked schools in Alameda County. To have the city and the community be instrumental in any bond issues that the School District may place before the community. Music and Arts joint projects / Business and Occupational Projects to balance out with Recreational/Sports Joint Projects.

C. Opportunities for Public Participation

10. How will you improve communications between residents and city government and improve public participation in city government?

Create a City Wide Email Distribution List so that the Public would receive information on a timely basis and they are able to participate in meetings, forums, activities. More and more people are relying on email notifications and alerts as a way to stay in touch in this ever changing society. If we can create a distribution list that would send an alert about a meeting -- it would invite and encourage people to participate more.

It's wonderful that the City has a website for the community to GO to -- however I think the community would benefit and participate more if we could email TO them what's going on in our city.

11. What would you do to improve the prompt availability of more information (meeting minutes, etc.) on the city web site and other places?

I would see that this was made a priority that was directed to the City Manager as a goal to accomplish. As stated in #10 ­- I think if we could create an email distribution list that would notify/alert people what is going on we could increase the participation within our City.

12. What steps will you undertake to improve the transparency and quality of decision making by the City of San Leandro?

I would find out the area of concerns with regards to the decision making and see what thread is missing. I would work to create a plan to address improving this breakdown so everyone within our community is more understanding of the process of decision making.

D. Campaigning

13. List your top five endorsements.

I have not asked for any endorsements.

14. List your top five (in dollar amount) sources of campaign contributions.

I have pledged to the community that I would not raise more than $1000 on this election. So I have a total of 8 contributions -- the top 4 over $99 are listed below:
Kati Knox-Wrobel $250
Leon J. Mezzett, Jr, Atty At Law $250
K. Reed Roofing $200
Gerald M. Garcia $100

15. How would you reform the way that campaigns are currently financed, if at all?

One way I would like to reform the way that campaigns are currently financed is that if you are elected -- and you received a campaign donation over $500 from a business entity -- that any sort of voting that would come before the Council with regards to that business entity ­-- as an elected official ­You would abstain from the vote for ONE year after receiving that donation.

16. What is your position regarding changing City Council member elections from city-wide elections to district-wide elections?

My position regarding changing City council member elections from City-wide elections to district wide elections is that I don't believe this is a good decision at all. As a City Council member you need to be responsible for / and to the Whole City. As A council member you must be concerned with the community as whole and with other districts in order to create a balance. As a council member you are working for the betterment of the community as a whole not just your district alone.

E. Schools

17. How will you promote collaboration between the city and public schools?

I would work to promote collaboration between the city and public schools by working to exchange the City's Quality of Life issues with the school district's priorities. Establish Quantified goals for school districts (ie: working with the school districts to increase school test scores as a quality of life issue for the city. Better scores = better home values)

18. What opportunities do you see for joint use projects between the city and schools?

  • Music
  • Art / Drama
  • Business / Occupational
  • Report Card / Grade Incentives
  • Working with At-Risk

19. What do you see as the city's responsibility for impact of new housing development on schools?

This is a priority. The school district has its own mandates that state the schools can not be overcrowded. The City has its own mandates that state there needs to be enough housing to provide for those families. We need to work together to accomplish both of these for the community.

20. What was your position on Measure A, the parcel tax for the San Leandro Unified School District? How did you contribute towards the campaign?

I supported Measure A -­ whole heartedly. I contributed by sharing information about the Measure, discussing it with homeowners, business owners, etc.

F. Positions

21. Briefly state your ideas on how to encourage and protect local businesses development. What is your position on enacting limits on chain businesses? What actions would you propose to accomplish your vision?

My thoughts and ideas on how to encourage and protect local business development would be Community Based / Community First Driven
Local Business opportunities would be placed for bidding -- starting with LOCAL businesses first. Current Local Businesses would have a 1st round competitive bidding priority vs. outside businesses.
Chain businesses don't always benefit the community ­-- other than revenue dollars. Businesses need to be community driven. We can accept chain businesses in our community provided they make sense for the neighborhood around it and the community as a whole

22. What is your position on the establishment of a living wage ordinance?

Support it.

23. How would you ensure that community benefits are negotiated into city contracts, development assisted by the city, or franchise monopolies such as Comcast?

Once again I would look to competitive bidding. State what it is that the City is looking for and encourage bidders to step up. At that point we as a community could choose the best option for our City.

24. Briefly state your position on the use of eminent domain.

I applaud the policy that was established by the current council. Eminent Domain remains for emergency services.

25. What would you do in office to address poverty and homelessness in San Leandro?

Continue to strengthen our relationships with our non-profit organizations. Support reaching out and encouraging others to assist those with the avenues and means to improve the quality of life of the homeless and poor.

26. What would you do to improve public transportation and make San Leandro a more walkable city?

I would like to see San Leandro create a public transportation system that benefits our residents. There are other cities in California that have public transportation systems for their city ­- Dublin has Wheels, Monterey has The Wave. These promote public transportation within the community. And work to lessen the traffic congestion within the community. I would like to see the City create “Walk / Bike to work day” once a month (or more) and promote them ­- working alongside our businesses and Chamber of Commerce.

27. How would you promote opportunities within San Leandro for historically-disadvantaged populations/minorities?

We could restore the Cherry City Festival for starters. This is an event that celebrates where San Leandro came from and what we are today. We can restore this event/parade and have the emphasis on our cultural diversity and history and the contributions all have made to our City.

We can also work with our Non Profit organizations and our Chamber of Commerce to strengthen opportunities within our community to assist the disadvantage in order to create better quality of life statuses.

28. What is your position on the EBMUD Heron Bay groundwater project?

I do not support the EBMUD Heron Bay Groundwater project.