GILROY
– An incumbent City Councilman, two City Council hopefuls, the
wife of a school board trustee and other high-profile community
activists have formed a grassroots group to combat City Council
trends they believe harm Gilroy’s quality of life.
GILROY – An incumbent City Councilman, two City Council hopefuls, the wife of a school board trustee and other high-profile community activists have formed a grassroots group to combat City Council trends they believe harm Gilroy’s quality of life.
Gilroy First, which has Councilman Peter Arellano and Council candidates Paul Correa and Shawn Weymouth as members, presented a statement of principles last week. The group is calling for, among other things, more affordable housing, open space protection and a level playing field for homegrown businesses competing for market share.
Spokesperson Rose Barry said the City Council’s record-setting financial incentive package for the developer of the Pacheco Pass Center triggered the formation of the group.
In March, City Council reached an agreement with Newman Development Corp. to use up to $5.4 million in sales taxes from the center to cover certain fees the city would normally charge for impacts to roads, sewers and other infrastructure. The Regency center across Highway 152 received a similar deal worth roughly $5 million last year.
“We were uncomfortable with the precedent they were setting,” Barry said. “Until the Newman development, the agreements would be reached with the retail stores. Here the deal was being reached with the developer who is not directly accountable for the sales tax increases.”
As for the group’s overall goals, Barry says they can only be achieved if the people of Gilroy take a more active role in the community’s political life. In its press release, the group notes that only 4,174 voters out of 17,138 registered voters took part in the 2001 City Council election.
“It’s pathetic to have such low voter turnout,” Barry said.
The group will engage in various activities to push the effort along. It will:
– Sponsor voter registration and voter education
– Distribute educational materials on community issues
– Sponsor public forums on community issues
– Sponsor programs that encourage greater participation by Gilroyans in political decision-making processes.
Correa, a member of the Gilroy Planning Commission, and Weymouth, a member of the Gilroy Parks and Recreation Committee, announced their candidacy for City Council last week.
Arellano has yet to publicly state his intentions for the November 2003 election. He, along with Councilman Charlie Morales, voted against the Newman incentive package.
Other members of the group include: Javier Aguirre, Guadalupe Arellano, Rebecca Armendariz, Sally Armendariz, Miguel Correa, Ed Delgado, Steve Jones, Lenny Ortega, Connie Rogers, Robert Shiraki and Angie Razo.
For more information, call Rose Barry at 848-8138.
