It’s been an unbelievable ride!

Tomorrow is election day and believe it or not the people elected in local elections will have more of an impact on your day to day life than any elected official.  So if you have not already done so, go out and vote.  It’s what makes America great.

Thanks,

Charlie

We are now down to one week before election day.  Many people have already cast their votes by mail.  I was very encouraged this weekend by the number of people that I was meeting for the first time who were telling me that they voted for me and were very complimentary on their reasons.

Walking precincts is about the hardest part of local campaigns primarily because even in a city of 30,000 it exerts a physical toll.  I must say, however, that it has also been the most wonderful part of the campaign due primarily to the people of Foster City.

Almost all of the people I was able to visit were very receptive to meeting me and learning about my views on the local issues.  Just about everyone was friendly and welcoming and excited about their lives in Foster City.  Many shared the vision I have for Foster City, but even those who did not, showed their passion for life here.

I met people who have lived here since 1964 when the first homes, including mine, were built and I met people who are recent residents and all sorts in between.  I met seniors, infants, parents, children, police, fire fighters, homemakers, grandparents, teachers, just about anyone and everyone you could imagine.  I drew energy from the way everyone is excited to live in Foster City and be part of such a wonderful community.

We are finishing the campaign this Sunday with a gathering of many supporters for a final walk through some of the remaining precincts.  I thought that gathering together as a small community to serve the larger community would be a fitting end to what has most certainly been a community effort.

Win or lose, meeting so many Foster City residents has been fantastic and an adventure that I will, in many ways, always treasure.  I know it will be my driving force in continuing to serve Foster City in whatever capacity the future holds for me.

Remember, Election Day is November 3.  Don’t forget to vote!!

Charlie

I am pleased to announce that today I received the endorsement of the San Mateo County Times.  I want to thank the Times for taking the opportunity to understand the issues in Foster City and to understand what each of the candidates brings to the table.

You can click here to go directly to the article, but I have also reprinted it below:

FOSTER CITY residents are passionate about their community, and none love Foster City more than the five candidates vying for two seats on the City Council.

Councilwoman Pam Frisella is the only incumbent in the race following the departure of John Kiramis, who resigned as mayor last month and moved to Southern California.

Challengers include real estate lawyer Charles Bronitsky, who has put in four years on the Planning Commission; Herb Perez, owner of a Foster City martial arts studio; Wing Yu, chief executive of a local company that provides stock market data and financial news; and Linda Haskin, a community activist.

Whomever is elected will have to grapple with tough issues, such as how to increase revenues to the city and maintain a healthy budget while managing development projects to best serve the needs of residents.

Separating the candidates are their levels of political experience and their views on such things as Mirabella San Francisco Bay, a retirement community planned for 15 acres next to City Hall, and what to do about the San Mateo-Foster City School District’s quest for a fourth elementary school campus.

Frisella has served the city well since joining the council in 2005. She is approachable and listens to residents before making decisions. She is also a strong advocate of maintaining core services, particularly public safety. Frisella deserves another term to see some of the projects she’s been involved in come to fruition.

We agree with her view that any development of the land next to City Hall must be a revenue-generator for the city, and so does Bronitsky.

As a planning commissioner, Bronitsky has been involved in the Mirabella development and has experience building consensus. He has several ideas for generating additional revenue for the city, including redeveloping Beach Park Plaza and transforming the area into a mixed-use development.

Frisella and Bronitsky have the experience and the vision that Foster City needs to thrive well into the future. We urge you to vote for Frisella and Bronitsky on Nov. 3.

(This article is reprinted from the October 23, 2009 San Mateo County Times, emphasis added).

In Saturday’s San Mateo Daily Journal, Keith Kreitman began his weekly column with an endorsement section endorsing me and Pam for City Council.  Here is what Keith had to say:

On a serious note: As a longtime resident of Foster City, following the local political scene, I have had a number of Foster City residents ask about whom I favor for the two open seats on the City Council.

Normally, I don’t endorse but observing the success and talents of this current council in contrast to so many bitter and divisive councils of the past:

I would suggest re-electing Pam Frisella, who has had an excellent and productive four years on the council and electing Charlie Bronitsky, the most recent chairman of the Foster City Planning Commission.

Bronitsky is a graduate of the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley, and a real estate lawyer. With four years on the Planning Commission, he is uniquely prepared to, immediately, know and understand the problems currently facing Foster City.

His has been a life of community service since arriving in Foster City and I am unable to imagine that it will not continue in an even more expanded form as a member of the City Council and, at the same time, preserve the congeniality, mutual respect and effectiveness that has become the hallmark of current council during the past two terms.

The San Mateo County Times interviewed all five of the candidates for City Council and published an article which deals with, among other things, the development of the 15 acres adjacent to City Hall currently under agreement for the construction of the mixed-use downtown and senior housing project known as Mirabella.  The candidates were asked to say what they would do if and when the current agreement expires next April and the project is still stalled.  Here is what each of them is quoted as saying:

Wing “Yu has staked out the boldest position on Mirabella. If developer Pacific Retirement Services is not able to come up with financing in time to meet an April deadline that was negotiated with the city, Yu believes officials should consider establishing a middle school on the 15-acre parcel and turning Bowditch Middle School into an elementary school.”

Linda “Haskin is the least committed to the existing vision for the site, and she wants to survey residents again to see what they want. She does not believe the parcel needs to generate revenue, and she questions the city’s five-year budget projections, claiming the city can reduce its capital outlays and make other adjustments to stave off the structural deficit anticipated by city officials.”

Herb Perez “said that the 15-acre site can still be developed in a way that would accommodate both a school and senior housing. He has proposed flipping existing plans by placing a school on the southeastern edge of the property along Shell Boulevard, a notion Bronitsky has criticized as unfeasible.”

The San Mateo Foster City School District’s plans for such a school are available on their website.  Those plans call for the school to be built on 6 acres along Shell Boulevard.  In addition, the 4 acres along Foster City Boulevard are under the power lines and would be able to provide only parking.  Thus, there would only be 5 acres of the parcel left to develop with no street frontage.  Anyone with any experience in city government or real estate development would understand that such a project would not work.  That is why it is Mr. Perez’s proposal is unfeasible.

In contrast, “Bronitsky and Frisella vehemently disagree with [these] idea[s], arguing that the city must generate revenue from the land, especially since projections indicate the city will face a structural deficit of $2 million in five years. Both feel the lot should be used for senior housing, even if the economy forces Pacific Retirement Services to withdraw its plans.”

The candidates have made the choice clear.  If you continue to agree that a mixed use senior housing and downtown project is what the City should have, you need to vote for Bronitsky and Frisella.  If not, that plan is clearly in jeopardy.

The article from which I am quoting was written by Aaron Kinney a reporter with the San Mateo County Times.  You can find the entire article online by clicking here.  The portions of this that are not in quotes are my comments not Mr. Kinney’s or the Times’.

Yesterday evening the League of Women Voters held a Candidate Forum for the five candidates running for City Council here in Foster City.  What was startling to me, was that out of the five of us, only Pam Frisella and I were truly supportive of mixed use - affordable senior housing on the 15 acres next to City Hall.  The other three candidates all support other uses of the 15 acres in the event that the current Mirabella project does not go forward.

One candidate, who has been a forceful opponent of the downtown and senior living development since its inception, stated that if elected and if Mirabella does not go forward, that candidate would advocate for the process to begin all over again and the use of the 15 acres reserved for public use.

Another candidate suggested that if Mirabella does not go forward, senior housing should be built elsewhere and that the 15 acres be used for a fourth elementary school and various other purposes.  Exactly where else senior housing was going to be built was not discussed.

The third candidate stated that in the event that Mirabella is not build, then the City should reserve the four acres closest to Shell Boulevard for a fourth elementary school and allow a senior facility to be built on the rest of the parcel.

Unfortunately, the truth is that if those four acres are given to build a fourth elementary school, less than half of the site could be used to build anything else because another four acres of the site is under the power lines and cannot be developed.  In addition, if a school were built along Shell Boulevard, there would be no street frontage for the downtown portion of the project and thus, it would be highly unlikely that anyone would want to develop the balance of what would then be a land locked parcel.

The failure to build a mixed use - senior living facility on the 15 acres will likely prove to be economically harmful to Foster City.  The revenue to the City from the Mirabella project is projected to be $2 million each year which would cover the currently projected deficit.  A smaller project, built on the remaining 7 developable acres or less, would generate substantially less revenue for the City, especially if the project does not include retail services in a “downtown” facility because of the lack of street frontage.  The more likely scenario however, is that no one will develop on the 7 land locked acres and the City will be looking at a more difficult budgetary shortfall which could result in significant cuts in services.

Perhaps more importantly, however, is the fact that our seniors need to have an affordable place to live that can provide for our needs as we age.  If Foster City lacks in any area, it is in providing services and housing for our seniors.  Foster City does a lot, but it can and should do more.  There are plenty of other possible solutions to the elementary school issues that do not involve taking away the senior living facility or a developed park.  Moreover, a building does not make an education a quality education, a quality education is made by the teachers, staff and administrators.

If you did not see the Candidate’s Forum, Foster City TV will be rebroadcasting it and the City will post it on their website. You can see it by clicking here. By watching it yourself you will see that I am not distorting anyone’s position.

I hope that if you believe like I do that a mixed use - senior living facility is critical for Foster City that you will support my candidacy for City Council as I will fight hard to protect that for our seniors.

Thank you,

Charlie