At the local level, I have been working to help prevent flood damage and advocating for environmentally conscious solutions to the state’s water shortage, including:

• Serving on the Citizen Oversight Committee for the Clean Safe Creeks and Natural Flood Protection Plan of the Santa Clara Valley Water District.
• Supporting the coequal goals for the Delta of ecosystem restoration and water supply reliability, as required by state law. He opposes the Governor’s Delta water tunnel plan because it does not meet both of these goals.

Due to climate change, we must plan for a future with more severe droughts and less water. I will advocate for a comprehensive approach that includes:

• Developing and implementing cheaper, quicker, and more efficient ways to conserve water while simultaneously offering long-term solutions to Southern California cities and Central Valley farmers. I will promote efforts to capture and recycle more water, invest in wastewater recycling plants, rainwater collection systems, and greywater systems, and incentivize residents to switch from water thirsty lawns to water-efficient landscape design.
• Establish plans to incentivize farmers to invest in drip irrigation systems that will conserve significant amounts of water, creating a more sustainable system for the future. 80% of our water is used for agricultural purposes, and far too many California farmers still use flood irrigation to produce their crops.
• Protecting against sea level rise by fully funding the $1.5 billion it will cost to restore 54,000 acres of wetlands around the bay. Sea level rise threatens to contaminate up to 38% of California’s drinking water supply, destroy billions of dollars worth of homes, roads, and critical infrastructure, and disrupt communities across the Bay Area. Restoring our wetlands is the best prevention measure we have - but we must act now.
• Leading the way on sustainability. California companies are pioneering software and devices that can drastically reduce the water we consume, including behavioral software to educate utility customers about their water use and suggest easy ways to cut back, sensors to prevent unnecessary landscape watering, and greywater systems to reuse household wastewater for nonpotable uses. These technologies should be deployed statewide with incentives for municipal and consumer adoption.
• Modernizing and strengthening the levees in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta that safeguard the freshwater supply for 25 million Californians. The current levee system is vulnerable to earthquakes and other natural disasters that could trigger breaches and long-term shortages of freshwater for much of the state.

I fully support the DISCLOSE Act of 2015 and efforts to overturn Citizens United. We should do all we can to increase transparency, and reduce the influence of money in politics and the need for candidates to raise large amounts of money. I would like to see us move toward a system of publicly financing campaigns if we can identify adequate funding.

The legislature should also continually look for ways to strengthen ethics laws. I was disappointed that Governor Brown vetoed legislation authored by incumbent 24th District Assemblymember Rich Gordon to extend lobbying disclosure rules to lobbying done for state procurement contracts. 

I have led the effort on the Palo Alto City Council to put a plan in place to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2018, and I support the plan passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Brown to raise the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022. The 24th Assembly District is in the midst of an affordability crisis, and raising the minimum wage begins to address the difficulting many working families are having affording the high cost of living in our area. I am mindful of the impact raising the minimum wage may have on employers, but keeping the minimum wage far below the cost of living, which leads to greater demand on social services, is a subsidy the state can't afford and shouldn't have to pay.

My priorities as a state legislator will be to secure and maintain adequate and additional funding for public education in California so that we can close the achievement gap in our schools; rebuild California by repairing our crumbling infrastructure; and leverage technology and innovation to combat climate change and reduce our carbon emissions while creating good, living wage jobs here in California.

The 24th Assembly District is a wonderful place to live. Our economy is strong, many communities have high-performing public schools, and our open space and coastline are breathtaking. But these positive qualities have combined to create a housing and affordability crisis that we must address before it threatens to undo much of the progress we’ve made. Rents have increased 43-63% across the district over the past five years. 

I have helped to tackle this challenge head-on in Palo Alto, including:

• Leading the effort on the City Council to put a plan in place to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2018.
• Opposing the city’s vehicle habitation ban so people with nowhere else to go could sleep in their cars rather than on the streets. The ban was eventually overturned.
• In order to foster a community discussion on the housing crisis, I helped create a group of Palo Alto residents focused on finding solutions to the housing crisis.
• Protecting Palo Alto’s small businesses by prioritizing ground floor retail in the city’s commercial corridors. 

Solving this afoordability crisis means taking a balanced approach that prioritizes affordable housing, transit-oriented development, investing in public transportation, and better pay and benefits for workers, including:

• Increasing the state affordable housing tax credit. Last year the legislature passed two bills with overwhelming bipartisan support, Assembly Bill 35 and Senate Bill 377, that would have increased the affordable housing tax credit by $500 million, leveraged an additional $1 billion in federal funds, and increased the value of the state affordable housing tax credit by 40%. Unfortunately, Governor Brown vetoed the legislation. California must increase the amount of affordable housing tax credits to a level capable of sustaining necessary development.
• Passing an affordable housing bond. In 2014, Californians approved Proposition 41 to provide $600 million in funding for affordable housing for veterans, and last year San Francisco passed a $310 million affordable housing bond. We need to broaden that approach to provide funding and financing for affordable housing projects across the state. We should pass a statewide affordable housing bond measure, and we should be meeting current and future affordable housing needs.
• Improving access to child care. The skyrocketing cost of housing is exacerbated for working families by the expense and lack of access to high quality child care services. Without subsidies, child care is only affordable for 20% of California families, and current subsidies often aren’t enough to make up the difference. We can close the gap through tax credits for employer-funded child care, expanded subsidies, and finally offering universal preschool. High quality child care should be accessible and affordable for every child in California.

Silicon Valley’s prosperous economy is creating tens of thousands of jobs, but that growth is also creating increasing traffic congestion and strain on our public transportation networks. I have a track record of improving transportation in Palo Alto:

• In 2010, I was appointed to Palo Alto’s Infrastructure Blue Ribbon Commission (IBRC), which developed a comprehensive plan for Palo Alto to repair its infrastructure backlog and put measures in place to ensure it doesn’t fall behind again.
• In order to foster a community discussion on the housing and transportation crisis, I helped bring together a group of Palo Alto residents to focus on finding forward-thinking, creative solutions to these complex issues.

I will use my experiences in improving transportation infrastructure to Sacramento to improve public transit options, improve road quality and safety, and prepare our transportation system for the future, including:

• Completing the Caltrain electrification project will almost triple current capacity, take thousands of cars off the road, and relieve current and future traffic congestion up and down the Peninsula. Working with the federal government and local agencies, California should fully fund this vital project to ensure completion by 2020.
• Reviving the Dumbarton Rail Corridor. Due to rising housing prices, more and more workers are commuting from the East Bay to jobs on the Peninsula, but there aren’t adequate public transportation options to serve them. Commuter rail via the Dumbarton Rail Corridor would reduce congestion on local roads and bridges and connect Caltrain to public transit networks in the East Bay, including BART. Working with local government and private sector partners, the state should provide funding and logistical support to the Dumbarton Rail Corridor project.
• Repairing our crumbling highways. A recent national study ranked California’s highways as the worst in America, with 51% rated poor. This costs California motorists $44 billion a year in extra vehicle repairs and congestion-related delays. Drivers in the Bay Area pay an extra $1,700 a year. No stretch of California state highway should be rated in poor condition.
• Developing a statewide network of electric vehicle charging stations. Governor Brown has set a goal of 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2025. But while we have encouraged automakers to develop these vehicles, and consumers to purchase them, we haven’t installed a network of electric vehicle charging stations capable of reliably keeping these vehicles on the road. California must have a statewide network of charging stations capable of meeting current and future demand.
• Incentivizing transit oriented development. Locating new housing and commercial development close to planned and existing public transportation hubs makes it easier for commuters to utilize public transportation, thereby reducing traffic congestion and air pollution. The legislature should provide financial incentives and regulatory relief to local governments to enable more transit oriented development.

During my 16 years in elected public service, I have built a strong environmental record.  First, I have taken a leadership role on implementing smart growth and been a staunch advocate of creating more housing, affordable and market rate, along transit corridors, focusing on infill development at much higher densities.  Housing near jobs has multiple positive environmental impacts, can reduce commute lengths and thus reduce transportation related missions. 

I have also been a strong advocate of local policies addressing climate change, and in Mountain View we have done significant planning for sea level rise.  During my four terms on the Mountain View City Council for example, we have fully embraced sustainability and climate action planning.  I have supported these efforts and we have recently adopted a new Climate Action Plan, Climate Action Roadmap, a municipal set of climate action strategies as well as one for the community.  Locally, Mountain View has included solar in new governmental projects, streamlined solar permitting, has adopted a new PACE program, and is aggressively implementing our climate action plan.  In fact, most new office construction in Mountain View is being developed to LEED Platinum standards.  I have also led the effort to preserve and create more park space and open space in Mountain View.  

 Additionally, as a Boardmember of the Institute for Local Government, I have led the effort to ensure that the Beacon Award program rewards local municipalities that implement positive environmental changes.  As a member of the Bay Area Water Conservation and Supply Agency, I have advocated for water saving measures and worked through the non-profit sector to educate smaller localities on how to adapt gray water systems to improve water recycling.  

I support and have endorsed the Disclose Act, and as Mayor, introduced and passed a City Resolution supporting The Move To Amend, a National effort to overturn Citizens United.  Furthermore I have supported local efforts to reduce the influence of money in politics.  Mountain View has a voluntery spending cap which is widely used by candidates and we recently passed sweeping efforts aimed at transparency and disclosure for independent expenditures, including a menu of enforcement options.

The amount of money that is spent on elections shocks the conscience.  However, First Amendment rights must also be observed.  I believe volutnery efforts to control spending, coupled with incentives, as we do in Mountain View could be quite successful.  I also believe the State should further explore the possibility of publicly funded elections.

As a City Councilman in Mountain View, not only did I support being the first City in Santa Clara county to increase the minimum wage by ordinance, I helped lead the successful fight to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2018 shortly thereafter, making Mountain View the first city in Santa Clara County to enact such a measure.

As a member of the Mountain View City Council, I only supported Structurally Balanced Budgets.  We avoided wholesale layoffs during the recession and during economic expansions we avoided the temptation of adding long term costs.

I will take these lessons to Sacramento.  I support the Governor's rainy day fund and believe it should be supplemented.  While nobody knows when the next recession will come, every day gets the State one day closer, and we need to be prepared.

Additionally, The State and local governments need to bring our revenue and tax systems into the 21st Century.  Our sales tax is based on face-to-face product sales, but more and more commerce is avoiding sales tax through online sales, downloads and the like.  The State is losing significant revenues to online sales.  The State sales tax should be based on a growing segment of the economy.

Finally, although arguably a transportation issue, our transportation system funding is based on gasoline sales tax, which is declining as cars become more fuel efficient and more and more electric vehicles hit the road.  I support further examination of Vehicle Miles Traveled as a means of paying for our roads.

California, and the Bay Area in particular, finds itself in the midst of a catastrophic affordable housing crisis.  There can be little doubt that housing costs, especially in the Bay Area, have reached levels that are unaffordable to many.  Our friends, family and neighbors find themselves not simply priced out of neighborhoods but priced out of entire cities and counties.  Young people are being hit especially hard.  Renters and new home buyers are well aware of the problem, but even long time home owners find themselves asking: "Could I buy my house today?" or "Will my children be able to afford living in the same community they grew up in?" 

Unfortunately, the answer to both of these question is no.  Housing has become so expensive that long-time residents have had to move away, leaving friends and family behind. Yet, many of these same people still work in the communities they once lived in and now have to spend hours driving to and from work.  This worsens traffic, reduces the quality of life for those who have to commute, and significantly increases carbon emissions.  It is also having profound economic impacts on businesses throughout the State who find it difficult if not impossible to recruit employees to California out of fear that they will not be able to afford housing.   

As an Assemblyman, I will support legislation and measures that:

• Create incentives for local governments to create more affordable housing within their communities;
• Develop incentives for developers and investors who build more affordable housing and transit-oriented development.
• Enable more creative and effective regional planning and governance across the state to deal with transportation and affordable housing issues.  
• Create funds for public-private partnerships that enable the development of affordable housing.
• Increase the California Low Income Housing Tax Credit.
• Establish a state housing trust fund to develop affordable housing.
• Codify the California Supreme Court’s recent decision affirming the constitutionality of inclusionary housing ordinances.  
• Ensure that affordable housing is integrated into larger housing developments in order to ensure diversity and inclusivity.  
• Encourage the development of more rental housing.  

The importance of transportation policy cannot be underestimated.  It is intrinsically linked to both our economy and our environment as well as quality of life.  Without good transportation infrastructure and services in place and active government investment, our economy, environment, and quality of life overall suffer.  

As a State Assemblyman, I will support measures that:

• Make our roadways more efficient including development of multi-modal transit corridors to include freeway lanes, mass transit rail, dedicated bus lanes, and bike paths.
• Improve and expand our commuter and inner urban heavy rail systems.
• Update the gas tax and other transportation revenues to ensure that our transportation system has the financial resources necessary to maintain and improve our roads, bridges, highways, rail and aviation corridors to ensure that Californians can move quickly, efficiently and safely throughout the State.
• Complete the high speed rail project and ensure that it links all major population centers of California.
• High Speed Rail will enable CalTrain to electrify its system, which, once completed, will greatly increase the capacity and efficiency of CalTrain – taking more people off our roads and freeways.
• I support the Dumbarton Rail Corridor study that is examining the reopening of the Dumbarton Rail line with capacity for Bus Rapid Transit, bike and pedestrian access relieving traffic pressure in the Menlo Park and East Palo Alto communities from Dumbarton Bridge traffic.
• Give local communities more resources to develop alternative transportation networks such as people movers and personal rapid transit systems.

My Transportation Record:

Although there is often a great outcry for solutions to traffic problems at the local level, local governments are often extremely limited in enacting transportation policies. Under my leadership, Mountain View instituted innovative policies designed to relieve the city’s traffic problems.

These solutions included:

• Requiring the city’s largest employers to reduce employee single occupant car trips, and shift employees to mass transit and shuttles, and set strict “trip caps” as a pre-condition to the issuance of building permits to expand.
• Implementing innovative parking models to reduce local congestion and making parking easier to find.
• Rewarding developers for building pedestrian friendly mix-used developments near light rail that encouraged usage of the city’s light rail system.

Politics and money are directly related.  Political power to influence policies and laws attracts money from special interests.  Campaign contribution and spending limits and reporting attempt to limit the influence of money and provide transparency.  However, until voters elect  politicians who favor more limited government instead of  powerful political authority, money will still have influence.   

I do not support olitically mandated wage and price controls and the minimum wage specficall for the following reasons:

1. Wage (and price) controls distort an effective, competitive market exchange for goods, services and labor.  Generally, the minimum wage tends to drive up prices for customers and reduce the incentive to hire minimum wage workers.  However, there is not a lot of employment and price data measure the effect of the minimum wage because mandated minimum wages are  so close to or slightly higher than market rate wages that the impacts may not be that noticeable.  

2. The minimum wage impacts market rate wages already paying higher than minimum wage.  For example, when a low skill job paying $8/hr is mandated to $10/hour, that means a higher skilled job already paying $10/hour will create a demand for a higher wage for that job also.  The effect is wage compression.

3. Minimum wage policies distract focus from the more familiar and practical methods for low skill workers to earn higher wages.  Higher incomes are better achieved through job training, job experience, education, and English language proficiency, not the minimum wage.

4. Finally, mandated wage rates undermine individual right to choose.  The market place is more effective when employers, employees and customers decide what labor rates to pay, what jobs to take and where  to shop based on free choice.

Local economies drive the cost of living in both affluent and less affluent regions of the state.  Supply and demand drive cost of living.   The cost of living in the Bay Area is higher than the central valley because the demand for jobs and hosting is greater here.  However, the State government can mitigate the cost of living state-wide by cutting high income and corporate tax rates.   

This is a very specific question, and the best way to save on water is large scale greenhousing of the central vally. We use over half of our water on agrigulcture and there is an easy way to cut our water usage on agiculture by more than half. We can simply copy what Spain has done in the last 10 years, where they have turned the desert of cetnral Spain into the most fertile land of all of Europe. I know it sounds kind of crazy, but it works, so it has to be considered a viable option to save on water. You can see the pictures and more information at this link: http://www.amusingplanet.com/2013/08/the-greenhouses-of-almeria.html

It is up to the people to STOP voting for candidates who are raising 100,000's and millions of dollars from the richest of the rich. If voters simply stopped voting for candidates taking the majority of their money from rich large donors, campaign finance reforms wouldn't matter. As a candidate I limit my fundraising to about $50 per contribution, and we could easily lower contribution amounts to as little as $500 from the current $2,700. How many people can actually give $500 to a political campiagn, very few. My primary goals are helping create more grassroots forums for local candidates and political organizations to encage our local communities with political issues without having to spend much money.

As you raise wages for individuals, they have the ability to spend more money which increases the overall economy. This is as opposed to keeping wages low and all the money going to the 0.001% that save the money so it is spent little by little which reduces the immediate economic impact. Basically your talking trickle down, vs trickle up, and I am a proponent of equlizing our economic oportunitites and ensurign that the primary economy is increasing the money spend on main street which will help the overall economy including the money going to the 0.001%. I am calling for the SF Bay Area to raise the minimum wage to a minimum of $20/hr and the rest of the state to a minimum of $15/hr.

I am committed to a balanced budget, so my top priorities are to raise taxes on the rich and BIG tech, and ensure that we re-fund Education, Health Care, our diiminising Courts, and of cousre Environmetnal Protections including our Parks.

Raise the Minimum wage to a minimum of $20/hr in the SF Bay Area, and a minimum of $15/hr in the rest of the state. Of course we would also couple this with low income housing and homes for the homless to ensure that the people who need help the most get it.

We need to re-think transportation. Most importantly is ensuring that individuals can get from Point A to Point Z. Currently our transporation work based on individuals going from Point D to Point L, and the individual is reponsiblie from getting from Point A to Point D, and then again from Point L to Point Z. This is not working. Additionally we NEED to make it so that you can get to Point A to Point Z within 15-30 minutes of the time it would take to go to that same location by car. If it takes 15 minutes by car, and 2 hours by public transporation, something is wrong. The most applicable way of making this happen is utilizing a grid network for our public transporation systems. This would ensure that where the MOST cars travel, would all have bus or tram routes. Yet currently most freeways do NOT have buses that travel on them, meaning that where the most cars go, there is NO public transporation. This would be easy to fix.