May 22, 2008

Two candidates vie for District 10 seat

By Carol Rosen
Editor

Two candidates are vying for the District 10 City Council seat, incumbent Nancy Pyle and newcomer Ashraf Madraswala.

Nancy Pyle talks with Matt Kamkar, a San Jose employee, and Santa Clara County District Attorney Delores Carr at the May 10 kick off for her campaign. Photo by Carol Rosen

The Times has interviewed both and set down their reasons for running and the issues they claim are most important to their constituents and to the city. District 10 consists of the Almaden Valley, the Hoffman-Via Monte neighborhood and areas in Blossom Valley.

Nancy Pyle
Pyle is running because “I haven’t finished the job. There are a number of projects in the pipeline.”

Among the issues she wants to continue to work on is “bringing the city to the point where its income is bigger than its outgo. We’ve improved permitting. We’ve stopped the insane sales tax leakage and we’re working on getting new business to come to San Jose and especially to District 10,” she said citing attempts to fill Oakridge, “which is not nearly at capacity,” with stores such as Crate and Barrel and Frys and talking with car dealers.

Pyle also mentioned bringing in Whole Foods, which when completed--expected to be in 2009--will bring in a number of jobs and more income through sales tax. “For every $100 people spend within the city confines, $1 goes to San Jose. I want people to shop in San Jose, buy in San Jose. If we start in the district then take it citywide, “it will help alleviate some of the city’s financial constraints such as paving streets and maintaining parks,” she said.

She also finds that land usage is among her top priorities. “I am working to keep land for industrial or commercial usage. I don’t want to see industrial land rezoned for homes,” she said. “Four major companies are poised to come to San Jose and we’ve interviewed many others. We have to make room for them to bring their companies here and to have property available so they can expand.

“We want to encourage companies to come here, to enjoy the weather and the culture. Right now for every two houses we have one job; we have to turn that around,” she added.

She’s also concerned about program continuity. If, she says, the government changes every four years, it makes for discontinuity. “Things change. That’s why it’s important to have a sound policy, especially about land use. There should be no more whittling away of industrial acres.”

Other important issues include education for her constituents, more fields for youth and continuing support for public safety. She was instrumental in helping provide monies from District 10 for the South Side Police Substation. She plans to continue working to maintain streets and parks, keep neighborhoods safe, invest resources in youth and senior programs as well ask keeping city government accountable.

Although she went door-to-door in her first campaign, Pyle feels she hasn’t the time to reconnect with constituents that way on this go-round. With her job taking up the majority of her day, the issues are more important, she said. However, “now I have more direct contact on a daily basis with my constituents.”

At a recent campaign kick-off, more than 200 people crammed the patio of the Sonoma Chicken Coop at Almaden Expressway and McAbee Road. Chief of Staff Lee Wilcox noted that the kick off had not been planned until “we started getting calls from constituents about having one. People wanted to show their support,” he said.

A retired teacher, Pyle also has worked as a realtor and is a former community college board trustee. She is the chair of the Community and Economic Development Committee and the Santa Clara County Emergency Preparedness Council. She also serves on the Neighborhood Services and Education Committee and is the liaison to the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Disability Advisory Commission.

She graduated from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, N.Y., and earned a master’s degree in educational administration from the U.S. International University in San Diego. She has two adult children. Nancy and her husband Roger have lived in Almaden and Blossom Valley for 25 years.

Ashraf Madraswala
While little known in the area, Madraswala has extensive plans if he is elected to the city council.

“For the last few years, I’ve been watching city government and I’m concerned that cities are collapsing and worried that they are going bankrupt. We need to control spending habits and implement business models for the city of San Jose,” he told the Times.

Ashraf Madraswala discusses the reasons he thinks he would make a good city council member for District 10 during a recent interview at his office. Photo by Carol Rosen

He feels that his background in business will provide a “no-nonsense approach to city government.” He is determined to “find creative solutions to resolve our city’s budget” without raising taxes and fees. He hopes to develop a system for area residents to raise issues and concerns to council members “that allows them to analyze issues across district lines.”

On the economic front, he plans to “encourage growth and diversity on the current job market while bringing new jobs to the community.”

“I have been in private enterprise in San Jose for the last 31 years, in the district for nearly 25 years; Nancy Pyle has been focusing for the last three and a half years on Almaden Valley not in the other regions of the district. I think a person should be proactive. Council members have numerous responsibilities for all of San Jose and they should make decisions for all districts,” he told the Times.

While the Almaden area has a low crime rate now, he worries that crime will increase as the economy deteriorates. “Jobs will transfer to other places and there are not enough incentives. Rents are too high for small business and there’s not enough revenue, the housing market is deteriorating and people are not spending,” he said.

The focus, he said, should be on schools. But he doesn’t see sports facilities for kids as a solution. “Gangs don’t do that, they only care about weapons and graffiti and vandalism. I was the victim of violence in 2006. I was stabbed eight times by a homeless person. So I know how to improve public safety.”

He claims the city needs a strategy for jobs. “Companies are reluctant to come here. I know they’ve brought a number of solar companies, but I don’t think it will work because residents won’t be able to afford it. When they don’t buy it, the companies will have to cut jobs,” he said.

His goal is to run the city as a business. Once that foundation has been built, he plans to cut down expenditures. “The city pays overtime to employees. They don’t understand that all that overtime can weaken a person’s performance. If employees need to work so much overtime, it would benefit the city to hire another employee,” he said, that would provide more efficiency and lower overtime payments.

But when asked about the increase in expenditures for a second employee, he noted, “corporations would hire another person. They would rather pay benefits, because they would be less expensive and more efficient.”

Madraswala has an AA degree in electronics from West Valley College and a BS in industrial technology with a minor in business administration from San Jose State.

“I bring the experience of the past 30 years from the corporate world – where I held various positions from manager to corporate president. I am a seasoned and accomplished business veteran who takes pride in my common sense business approach to City Hall, and will apply the best corporate business practices in my leadership position in City Hall.

“I have been married for 24 years, and have an 18-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter. I coached soccer in the Central Santa Clara Valley Youth Soccer League for five years, serving as head coach of the Christian Valley Association.