No one could argue that serving on a city council isn’t a grinding activity, requiring one to parse and analyze dense, technical and unfamiliar material, then comment as though one were an expert and to always without fail, make the right decision.
Sort of like a journalist.
Gilroy Mayor Perry Woodward certainly knows his stuff. and his old family ties to Gilroy, colored by his own memories of how the city once was makes him a community representative with a unique perspective. In this installment of our Q&A series with city council members, Woodward touches on his family history in Gilroy, answers some sticking questions on Caltrain scheduling and addresses the recent controversy regarding those 721 acres north of town.
DISPATCH: How does it feel to be mayor of your hometown?
WOODWARD: It all takes some getting used to. I see this as a rare opportunity to lead the city as our community resolves issues that will affect all of our futures. What has soaked in already is the heavy responsibility and the daunting challenge. There are many thorny issues facing us. Some nights I lose sleep thinking about the downtown; the next, it’s crime or maybe the pitiful condition of so many of our roads. More than once in the last six weeks, I have woken up before 3:30 a.m. and laid in bed until dawn pondering how to deal with the tens of millions of dollars in unfunded liabilities. In quiet moments sitting at my desk in City Hall, I have found myself marveling at how Don Gage managed to serve 34 years in elected office.
It helps that I respect all six of my colleagues on the council. We frequently disagree, but they work tirelessly and often thanklessly to make Gilroy a better place. Each is motivated to do what they believe is best for Gilroy. So to have been appointed mayor by them—5-to-1 on the first vote—means a lot. I am grateful to the people of Gilroy, who elected me to the council by large margins in 2007 and again in 2011. Each day I am mayor, I strive to live up to the profound trust they have placed in me.
DISPATCH: What does being from the local area and having family ties to Gilroy bring to the experience? And how does it inform your outlook?
WOODWARD: My great-great grandparents settled here in the early 1890s, where they worked in the fields. This isn’t just my hometown, it is my great-grandmother’s hometown. Born here in 1895, she died here in 1982. I remember her well. I can also still recall what Gilroy was like when it was about 10,000 residents. My first job was working in downtown, back when Monterey Street was a busier place.
Aside from my time in the Navy, I have always lived here. The years I spent in college at UC Santa Cruz and in law school at Santa Clara, I commuted from Gilroy. How I wish my great-grandmother were alive to see Gilroy today. She would urge me to work hard to make sure Gilroy stays a wonderful place for my great-grandchildren to grow up. I cannot let down the four generations of Gilroyans that came before me, or far more importantly, the countless generations who will come after me. Now that’s pressure.
DISPATCH: What are your top three goals for your short term?
WOODWARD: This year we need to: 1) hire an excellent, experienced city administrator who is capable of helping take our city to the next level; 2) keep pushing forward toward a downtown renaissance; and 3) finalize the 2040 General Plan. I know you said three, but we also need to get the underground utility work on First Street done this year so that Caltrans can finally repair and repave from Santa Teresa to Monterey by next April at the latest.
DISPATCH: Are you planning on running for office in November? If so, which office?
I will be a candidate for mayor this November.
DISPATCH: We’ve heard many complaints from locals who say Caltrains do not make enough stops in Gilroy, and the existing schedule is not convenient for commuters or day-trippers. What can be done to make changes to the Caltrain service to and from Gilroy?
WOODWARD: I, too, am one of the locals who complain about the current level of Caltrain service. There are too few trains and the schedule makes them hard to use. But the answer to your question is that in the short-run, sadly there is not much that can be done. Caltrain is the only transit system in the Bay Area without a permanent, dedicated source of funding. In addition to more funding, it physically needs more trains on its system. During my years on the Caltrain board, and now as its chair, I have had to remain vigilant just to keep the limited service we have in South County.
DISPATCH: What changes can be made to VTA and Caltrains which can go toward making Gilroy a viable mass transit hub?
WOODWARD: Gilroy’s population is less than 3 percent of Santa Clara County. We cannot count on others to solve our problems, when they all have immense challenges of their own. The real question is: What can be done in Gilroy to help residents get out of their cars and use mass transit? VTA’s formula is based on ridership; more riders means more service. That is how it works, not the other way around.
The number of Gilroy residents that commute to Silicon Valley on an average work day is staggering, well over 10,000. For example, five of the seven members on the City Council—me included—work at least as far away as downtown San Jose. This commute is already unbearable, and each month it seems to be getting worse. The number of Gilroyans who commute to Silicon Valley on mass transit is miniscule by comparison. Cheap gas and plentiful, free parking in Silicon Valley only compound the problem.
In terms of commute time, we are getting further and further from where the jobs are today. Gilroy’s continued economic vitality is at stake. There is no panacea. One innovation that will help is transit-oriented development around VTA’s six-acre station in downtown Gilroy, as well as along Monterey and First streets. To that end, I ensured that such planning was included in the soon-to-be-finalized 2040 General Plan when I chaired the General Plan Advisory Committee in 2014-15.
DISPATCH: Are there any mass transit initiatives or improvements in the pipeline that will benefit Gilroy residents?
WOODWARD: Mass transit? Nothing on the horizon, I am afraid. The Gilroy-serving initiatives and improvements that VTA is working on right now focus instead on roadways for those who drive to San Jose. As one example, the U.S. 101 Express Lanes project will help utilize existing capacity in the HOV lanes. Solo drivers will have the option of paying a toll to use the express lanes during commute hours. This project will convert 36 miles on U.S. 101 to express lanes and a second express lane will be added for the majority of the corridor.
Depending on what happens with VTA’s Envision Silicon Valley ballot measure this November, which would add a half-cent sales tax for congestion management, we could potentially see improvements to our Caltrain and bus service. But the language of that measure is still being refined and its passage is far from assured. It all takes money that is not currently available.
DISPATCH: 2024 is the year high speed rail will supposedly be in service in Gilroy. What do you feel about that date? Is it realistic?
WOODWARD: It is not realistic. It will take much longer, if it happens at all.
DISPATCH: There seems to be so many conflicting feelings surrounding high speed rail—what do you feel are the major issues Gilroy will confront as this massive project moves forward?
WOODWARD: Let’s see: 1) Where will the station be located? 2) Will the tracks pass through Gilroy at current ground level, elevated or in an open trench? 3) Will the high speed train use the same right of way that trains use through Gilroy today or will a new right of way have to be created through downtown (or somewhere else)? 4) Since a Gilroy station would serve an area from Capitola to San Luis Obispo, how many riders will we need to accommodate? 5) Where will all those riders park? 6) Will it become even more difficult to go from west to east in Gilroy, and vice versa, once high speed trains start running? 7) Who will pay the tens of millions, perhaps hundreds of millions, that will be required for a proper train station, the parking lots, the roadway improvements, and all the other necessary infrastructure that—while perhaps not strictly essential to HSR—will be essential to the proper functioning of our community?
DISPATCH: The City Council has been mired in controversy for a few months now. What steps can the council take to address concerns from some in the community that local voices are not being adequately heard?
WOODWARD: Over the last eight years, I have seen dozens of instances where one group or the other was upset. Whenever such a group is not getting what they want—whether it is those who want to ban fireworks, public employees wanting bigger raises, unions wanting to build the library, folks opposed to essential water rate increases, etc.—the common refrain is always that “local voices are not being adequately heard.” Representing the entire community does not mean you must please everyone in town all the time.
Lately there has been a particularly vocal, activist group—some from Gilroy, some not even from Gilroy—agitated about the council’s long-range planning efforts. Allowing large development that happens in stages over time gives the council local control and funding for roads, fire stations, schools, overpasses and the like. Such planning means this infrastructure is completed early in the process and consistent with long-range needs.
Rancho Los Olivos, for example, would only have proceeded in 10 or 15 years (or more) if we then had the jobs-base to support such residential growth. The process would have involved numerous local hearings after LAFCO approval. A specific plan for the entire area would have been developed based on extensive community input. After that, each stage of the development would have required additional approvals from future city councils through the RDO process, Subdivision Map Act compliance, and architectural review, to name just a few.
The real question is whether Gilroy will control its own destiny, or whether we will continue to be subject to piecemeal development at LAFCO’s whim. Many people in town, especially those who favor business and economic development, tell me they still support moving forward with this planning effort. Even the school district, which is always extremely concerned about too much growth, supports Rancho Los Olivos.
It deserves to be discussed more, not shouted down by the loudest voices. In any case, it is a single issue, not exactly a council “mired in controversy.”
