Questions and Answers

By Steve Tate

Answers to frequently asked questions.

1. Why are you running for reelection as mayor? Morgan Hill has currently has many on-going projects that need to be completed and I want to "stay the course" to see them through. It is a great honor to serve as mayor, and I have the extensive time it requires, I enjoy doing it and I am good at it. My accomplishments and experience as mayor, Council member and businessman; my knowledge of Morgan Hill; and my interpersonal skills give me the confidence to expect that Morgan Hill will continue to benefit from my leadership; that we can make our great community even better.

2. What are some of the important issues facing our city? Certainly we need to keep the community safe and fiscally sound. We can assure that with our outcome-based policing strategy and our sustainable budget strategy. We need to complete our General Plan update with substantial public input and buy-in to assure that the course we set for the future is the right one and will allow us to grow in a way that maintains our small-town atmosphere. Two other important efforts are achieving our goals for downtown vitality through infusion of housing and mixed use development and finalization/implementation of our plans to preserve agriculture and open space while expanding recreational opportunities in our southeast area.

3. If elected, what will you do differently over the next two years? Our "stay the course" theme implies that we need to keep working on the same goals and projects that are already underway, so what I will be working on won't be terribly different. But I am always open to new ways of doing things and will be looking for more collaboration and, if necessary, compromise in order resolve any impediments to accomplishing those goals.

I will also continue to work on building Morgan Hill's reputation and influence regionally. I have built a large network of elected officials in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties as well as State Assembly, State Senate and Congressional elected representatives and their staffs. I will be continuing to build Morgan Hill's regional influence and use it to our advantage.

4. How do you intend to control City costs? We must continue our tried and true method for this + our Sustainable Budget Strategy. We do frequent updates to a five-year projection of income and expenses. We use them to set, or adjust if necessary, our budget. Judicious use of reserves has been employed and there is a mechanism to assure we don't over use them to create a deficit. Our staff prepares a comprehensive monthly financial status report for the Council that has won recognition for its thoroughness and ease of understanding, and it provides early warning of problems that may require adjustments in our fiscal operations.

The entire Council has demonstrated over the past couple of years an intense focus on costs and diligently challenges our cost-conscious staff to look for even more ways to save.

5. What specifically are you going to do to make private sector job creation in Morgan Hill possible? We have comprehensive strategies to retain, attract or help businesses expand. Morgan Hill has been extensively advertised as "business friendly" in the San Jose Business Journal, producing good results. We are active in the Joint Venture Silicon Valley Economic Development Association and are early participants in a recently formed Regional Economic Development Initiative. Our leadership role in these organizations will allow us to leverage opportunities that fit our community's needs. I am very open to other ideas and suggestions to expand our business and job population here in Morgan Hill, to improve our long-term financial well being as well as the quality of life for our residents and employees who commute here.

6. How will Morgan Hill be better with your leadership for the next two years? Morgan Hill can be even better than the outstanding community it is today. We'll be further along implementing the downtown vision, making it a reality. We'll know our firm direction for the southeast quadrant and projects could be underway there, including the Catholic High School. The General Plan update will be near completion if not done, extending the community's vision by another ten years. We'll have acquired additional land for future recreation, and can finalize planning its use. If the economy continues to cooperate and the recovery continues, we can continue to reinstate or expand services, making us safer and better able to maintain our assets. We will definitely retain our small-town feel and sense of community, and be stronger for having weathered the difficult financial times.

7. What qualifies you to be our mayor? Primary qualifications are my experience, leadership, institutional knowledge, interpersonal skills and established local and regional relationships.

8. How do you plan to engage the community to address the challenges we have in Morgan Hill? We have great citizen support in Morgan Hill, but the number of people that get out into the community to participate in dialogs about future direction is quite limited for a city with a population of about 42,000. We would definitely like to see more involvement so we can have more confidence that the input we get is representative of the entire City.

One benefit of the Mayor/City Council campaign is that we will engage some new participants and we will encourage their future involvement. Decisions about what we plan for the South East Quadrant need as much public input as possible and I will encourage participation during the campaign. Reaching out and "engaging" more citizens is very important as we go into our General Plan update process, essentially establishing the community's vision an additional ten years into the future.

This year we added a Communications and Engagement Manager to our staff reporting directly to the city manager, so staff is now better prepared to support and extend community engagement.

9. What role does Morgan Hill play in South County? How about in the Silicon Valley region? Morgan Hill has a very close relationship with Gilroy and with Santa Clara County through our South County Board representative Mike Wasserman. We work very collaboratively on issues such as transportation, gang prevention strategies, and health initiatives.

It becomes more and more important over time to have influence and be a respected voice in the region. Issues involving transportation, water, housing, the environmental and employee contracts are examples of why this is so important. I serve as President of the Santa Clara County Cities Association Board and have built strong relationships there and through membership on several respected non-profit boards. We are working hard to assure that Morgan Hill and South County are influential participants and respected leaders in regional affairs.

10. Who are you endorsing for the City Council?

I strongly endorse incumbent Council members Gordon Siebert and Rich Constantine. They are doing a great job and deserve reelection. Our decision this year to "stay the course" with ongoing priorities is greatly benefitted by having consistency on the Council. Rich and Gordon are respectful, intelligent, decisive and responsive; please support them both with your vote.

11. Why should I vote "Tate for Mayor"? I love Morgan Hill; it is a very special place. Living here, I have grown increasingly attached to and involved in this wonderful community. My community knowledge, my extensive experience, and my leadership skills are excellent qualifications for the ultimate leadership role in Morgan Hill, and I believe I have performed it very well over the past eight years. I am excited and eager to continue serving a mayor.