4. Explain how you, as a member of the City Council, would address these issues facing Alameda; falling revenues, increasing costs, deferred expenses and Alameda Point redevelopment.

I believe that the issues of falling revenue, increasing costs, and deferred expenses would be solved if we can improve our local economy and become self-sufficient. Basically, we need to improve our current source of revenue or find other sources of income. As I said in my previous answer, the sales tax could be a major source of revenue for the city if we can help our local merchants and work with them to develop our business districts. Webster Street and the Marina Village and South Shore shopping centers can be improved to attract more visitors and shoppers. We can revitalize these areas, like we did on Park Street, to help improve our local economy. With the increased revenue, we can cover the increasing costs and build up our reserves to pay for the deferred expenses.

Alameda Point can also be a contributing factor to our city’s economic growth. With over 900 acres of land, it can be developed to provide jobs, housing, recreational areas, and a shopping complex for our residents and visitors. There is a lot of potential in Alameda Point, but there is also the concern about toxic wastes and hazardous materials that have been left there. I would like to first make sure that Alameda Point is cleaned up and determined to be a safe environment before proceeding with any further developments. Once we achieve this, we will work with urban planners, real estate developers, and business investors to come up with the best use of this resource.