GILROY
– In his first public address since his election night
acceptance speech, an admittedly nervous Mayor Al Pinheiro
delivered a warmly received state of the city speech Tuesday
afternoon.
Pinheiro, who was the feature speaker at the weekly Gilroy
Rotary Club meeting, began his speech apologetically because he
says public speaking is not his forte. But the new mayor quickly
turned to something he is better known for: his sense of humor.
GILROY – In his first public address since his election night acceptance speech, an admittedly nervous Mayor Al Pinheiro delivered a warmly received state of the city speech Tuesday afternoon.
Pinheiro, who was the feature speaker at the weekly Gilroy Rotary Club meeting, began his speech apologetically because he says public speaking is not his forte. But the new mayor quickly turned to something he is better known for: his sense of humor.
Addressing arguably the three most pressing city issues – the cost of the new police station, downtown revitalization and budget constraints – Pinheiro told Rotarians, “After just eight weeks as mayor, I have fixed all the problems Gilroy has.”
Pinheiro said he got Rotarian Bill Filice to donate $26 million toward the new police station, Rotarian Don Christopher to work on the downtown streetscape and longtime City Administrator Jay Baksa to return his pension when he retires. Laughter from the roughly 100-person Rotary Club crowd rang through the Elk’s Lodge Hall after Pinheiro told the jokes.
Talking for roughly 20 minutes and taking questions for another five minutes, Pinheiro seriously addressed roughly two-dozen issues. Dressed in a gray suit and red tie, Pinheiro provided only the most general details and spent little time explaining how he leans on issues, a direct contrast to his predecessor Tom Springer, some say.
Pinheiro called downtown revitalization his priority in his first term as mayor.
“Some think we should level it. Others see light at the end of the tunnel,” Pinheiro said regarding downtown. “We passed an economic stimulus package. That’s just a shot in the arm that we’re trying to give to landowners who want to help us revitalize the downtown.”
Speaking with only the aid of some loose notes, Pinheiro said competing demands for new development and the preservation of open space would be “the hardest thing Gilroy will face.”
He did, however, struggle through a question about the farmland preservation bill that has been batted around by City Council, the city attorney and a task force of citizens trying to develop a policy that permits development and saves agricultural lands simultaneously. Pinheiro said he is committed to the idea of having open space around a city that is able to grow.
“I don’t believe the developer has to pay for all of that (open space), but I believe the developer has to pay a percentage,” Pinheiro said.
Pinheiro also addressed the challenge of governing during budget deflated times, and he admitted City Council did not yet have a firm grasp of all the state budget implications.
“My biggest frustration as a businessman is when I tell Jay (Baksa), ‘Let’s do something,’ and I get a list from him of all the things that have to be done first,” Pinheiro said.
“I don’t believe that even Jay (Baksa) can sit up here and tell you what’s going to happen (with the 2004-05 budget),” Pinheiro said. “What I can tell you is since 1999 Gilroy has lost $16 million to the state, and it will take a lot to replace those revenues.”
According to city documents, however, estimates conclude that since the early 1990s the state has taken $16 million from Gilroy to cover its own deficits. Current budget proposals by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger make up $1.4 million of the revenue loss.
Pinheiro stressed his commitment to making his campaign promises come true, one of them being a City Council that works together.
“I want input from each Council member, and we are going to get there,” Pinheiro said. “I don’t want a Council that thinks alike, but I want a Council that works together.”
Pinheiro, whose Rotarian wife Velma was in the audience, said he has kept a printed list of all the items people said they wanted during conversations on the campaign trail.
“I’ll do my best to follow through on what I said I’d do,” Pinheiro said.
After Pinheiro’s speech, Rotary Club President Rob Barham thanked the mayor for his appearance.
“Even though I don’t know you really well, I can tell just from sitting near you and watching you speak today that you’re a man with a very good heart,” Barham said. “I’m glad you’re our mayor.”
Bob Kraemer, a member of Rotary who sits on the Bonfante Gardens board of directors with Pinheiro, said the mayor “came across in a way that is the reason why people in the community voted for him.”
Pinheiro, an incumbent City Councilmen when he ran for mayor last November, garnered a whopping 64 percent of the vote against three other candidates.
“Al is honest, open and his motives are purely for the community,” Kraemer said. “There’s no flash in him or his presentation today, and we all like that about him.”
Pinheiro will give another state of the city address to City of Gilroy employees at 8 a.m. Friday.
