Vision For Fremont

By Gus Morrison

Fremont has always been, and should continue to be, a city for families, a city where people can build their life, their family, and their future. Decisions should always be made based on that foundation. All the questions one asks when they seek to purchase a home apply to a city -Is it safe? How are the schools? Is there much traffic? Can I find a job nearby? Is the neighborhood kept up? All these and more should be answered positively. I have developed a theory that we build a city like we build a table, with four strong legs as the foundation. If the foundation is strong, we can add things on top, but without that foundation, the whole thing can collapse. The four legs which make up the foundation of a city are family, home, school, and church. If these are strong, the whole city is strong. And, to be honest, before I was mayor, I would not have included the church leg. But, I learned how strong each of the individual communities are, whether they be Christian, Jew, Hindu, Sikh, Moslem, or other religion, the strengths of each community help make our community stronger.

On economic development

A goal for any city is a jobs/housing balance + a job for every employed resident. This minimizes commuting and builds strong families, schools, and communities. Opportunities for good paying jobs should be a high priority for our city. We should reserve our valuable industrial zoned land for job creation, good high tech, Silicon Valley/bio-tech jobs, which pay well and provide a range of jobs from entry level to top management. It is important to make it easy for people to start companies in Fremont, because as they succeed and grow, they will stay here. The idea of incubator projects makes sense. And, if we have built the kind of community I describe above, we will have a place where company founders will want to live and where their employees will find appropriate homes and neighborhoods. While more retail would be important, especially in the downtown area, retail will not succeed without people with disposable income from good jobs (with benefits.)

On the role of the mayor

The Mayor, in a California General Law city, has few powers separate from a councilmember. The Mayor represents the city, chairs the meetings, and makes appointments to boards and commissions (with approval by the council.) The Mayor also must be a good leader, a good facilitator, and a good developer of the talent of the city council. Meetings must be conducted professionally, fairly, effectively, and efficiently. All sides must be heard, questions must be answered, and a consensus developed, without rancor or political posturing. Success or failure of a city council is largely determined by the effectiveness of the Mayor as a leader.

The Mayor of a city our size must be active in regional, state, national, and international affairs. We are one of the 100 largest cities in the country, 13th in the state, and 4th in the bay area. Our voice must be heard. The Mayor must participate at all levels. Our voice must be positive, thoughtful, and powerful.

On the role of the city council

We have five councilmembers who meet weekly to deal with issues affecting Fremont. It should not be two sides, but rather five strong, independent, thoughtful people all having opinions and ideas. None of us agree all the time, but the best ideas of five people are always better than the best idea of any one of us. Council needs to work together to form consensus positions, building on ideas and thoughts from one another to come up with the best ideas for Fremont. And, none of our positions are personal. We should be able to argue an issue, disagree on the vote, and then go have a cup of coffee together after. In Santa Rosa, in their council rules, it says that after every meeting, the City Manager will take the council and the City Attorney to dinner. Seems like a good practice, and it might be incentive to be more efficient to get done before the good restaurants close.

On the relationship between the city and the school district

We have the same constituents and should have the same goals. Several years ago, we developed a strategic plan for the city and school district. That plan should be resurrected, updated and used as a guide to build the relationship stronger for better schools and a better community. Simply meeting to have meetings is not terribly constructive.

On transportation

BART is the backbone of the bay area transportation system and needs to extend to San Jose and, eventually, up the peninsula. I support the extension to Warm Springs and the construction of the Irvington station. Our bus system needs to be improved, with shorter headways and increased levels of service. In a perfect world, buses should be frequent, comfortable, safe, fast, and free. Toll box revenue doesn't provide much of the cost today and adds to the administrative costs of the service. Why not free? It works in Portland and in Denver, why not Fremont?

On energy

Fremont should be a leader in energy conservation and green technology. We should set high standards for builders and developers and make ourselves a national leader in the fields of energy conservation and solar technologies. We should become a model for others to emulate.

On open space and parks

We must be vigilant in protection of our hills and baylands from misuse or development. We should continue to grow our park system ranging from Central Park to the small neighborhood parks scattered throughout Fremont. I think the water park is a misuse of our park system and a misuse of park development funds.

On Fremont's role in the region, the state, the nation and the world

As one of the 100 largest cities in the country, we should be active and involved across the various levels of government. We should participate and lead in organizations representing cities in the state and in the nation. Our voice should be heard. Our various sister city relationships should be nurtured and grown and our ties to international business should be cultivated.

On diversity

We live in a unique city. People have come from all over the world to live in Fremont. Children in our schools come from homes where 137 languages and dialects are spoken. We worship in hundreds of churches representing dozens of religions and denominations. Our differences make us more interesting, but we all have one common thread. We all want a better tomorrow for our children. All of our efforts should be directed to that point.

Gus Morrison August 19, 2008