City Council Candidate for District 6
Mark Tichy
A. Experience and History
1. How long have you lived in San Leandro?
14 years.
2. What is your current job and place of work, if any?
Realtor and co-owner of Chicago Blues Café on E. 14th Street in San Leandro.
3. What community, professional, and advocacy groups are you a member of?
4. With what political party, if any, are you registered?
Independent.
5. In a one sentence answer, why are you running for office?
There is a disconnected relationship between small business owners and the City, and I hope to create a more business-friendly town.
6. What are the relevant skills, experience, or education that qualify you?
In the past, I’ve managed several computer stores around the nation. I understand how to project future revenue, and how to use those funds.
7. What are your top five accomplishments of the past 2 years?
1. Realtor
2. Business owner
3. Married w/child
4. Animal rescue
B. Goals
8. What are your top 3 priorities, and what resources or programs would you advance to support them?
1. Invite more small businesses back into San Leandro.
2. More after school activities for children.
3. Improve the way grant money is spent.
9. Do you have any big ideas or visions for the future of the city?
I would like to see empty warehouses (commercial) areas be turned into residential. I would also like to implement a program to buy all utility lines.
C. Opportunities for Public Participation
10. How will you improve communications between residents and city government, and improve public participation in city government?
City government must first learn how to listen to their residents. All meetings should be open and during evening hours.
11. What will you do to get City Council meetings—and city boards and commissions—televised and online, including transcripts, for public access?
The City already has the capacity for meetings to be televised; however, the City doesn’t use it. All of the meetings are recorded, so it’s very easy to post the transcripts. This is a fairly easy task to accomplish.
12. What steps will you undertake to improve the transparency and quality of decision-making by the City of San Leandro?
Eliminate closed door meetings. The City Council makes up their minds before getting the public’s opinion, and that’s undemocratic.
D. Campaigning
13. List your top five endorsements.
None.
14. List your top five (in dollar amount) campaign contributors to-date.
None.
15. What is your position regarding changing City Council elections from city-wide elections to district-wide elections?
I prefer district-wide elections. City Council members represent districts, not the entire city.
16. What is your position regarding changing representation to be by race rather than by geographic location?
Choosing City Council members by race to represent different racial groups rather than geographic location is racist. People do not fit neatly into race categories.
E. Schools
17. How will you promote joint collaboration projects between the city and public schools?
The City must learn to collaborate with business leaders in California. Together they can solve some of the education system’s shortfalls with money. An educated populous makes for a better workforce.
18. What do you see as the city's responsibility for the impact of new housing developments on schools?
The City should require developers to put money into a school fund – to build more schools and improve existing schools.
19. What was your position on instituting a parcel tax to help pay for ongoing costs for the San Leandro Unified School District?
I do not support the parcel tax. Since I’ve lived here there have been many bonds passed to “raise money” for the school district; however, the schools are still in a bad situation, while the school administrators continue to get raises.
F. Local Issues
20. Briefly state your ideas on how to encourage and protect local businesses development, including your position on enacting limits on chain businesses, and actions you would propose to accomplish your vision.
The Planning and Building Codes here in San Leandro are too strict and tend to push business out of San Leandro. We also need to have a grant program to draw small businesses back to San Leandro..
21. How would proposed to implement the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) vision, given the insufficient resources and interest?
I wouldn’t. It’s proven to be a failed program. Over $100,000 was spent on TOD and nobody rides it. It’s a drain on our budget.
22. What are your thoughts and plans about getting a quality business in the old Albertson’s site?
We had a valuable tenant – Grocery Outlet. The City would much rather pick and choose who they let in. The City already has an anti-business reputation. Why make it worse?
23. John Jermanis has intimated that he wants to retire. How would you go about appointing a new City Manager?
The City Manager should be in line with the future of San Leandro, and should understand how to implement changes that will have a positive result in this town.
24. What would you do in office to address poverty and homelessness in San Leandro?
First, we must get a count of how many homeless people are in San Leandro. Secondly, we need to provide an incentive to get the homeless off the streets – housing, medical, drug programs …
25. What would you do to improve public transportation and make San Leandro more conducive to walking?
Trolley cars.
26. How would you promote opportunities within San Leandro for minorities and other historically-disadvantaged populations?
Provide more grant money for minorities who wish to open their own business.
27. Do you think the City Council should ban the use of styrofoam containers and plastic shopping bags in San Leandro? Why or why not?
Requiring small business people to switch to plastic and paper is costly, almost three times more than styrofoam. The styrofoam industry is changing their products to become biodegradable.
28. What would you do to decrease crime in San Leandro?
Neighborhood watches are an effective tool. Police officers should be on the streets preventing crime and apprehending criminals – not ticket writers.
29. Briefly state your position on the use of eminent domain.
Eminent domain has been poorly used in the past. For example, the City sold property on Marina Blvd. to the car dealerships.
G. Summary
Please state why San Leandrans should vote for you.
I’ve been running for City Council since 1996. I should have been appointed in 2006 to District 6 because I was the second highest vote getter to Mayor Santos. Instead, Prola was appointed to District 6.
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