From 200 to 15,000.
That’s the increase of email newsletters that go out every month
from Mike Wasserman since he stepped into office about a year ago
as Supervisor of Santa Clara County’s District 1.
“No matter where I go, the No. 1 comment is on the newsletter:
they’re finding out more about the county than they ever did
before, because I’m reporting about county government, what the
county is doing, what laws and regulations they’re passing. It’s a
tremendous educational tool,” Wasserman said.
Yet the monthly email newsletters that informs citizens of district
happenings (which covers Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Los Gatos, parts of
San Jose, unincorporated areas and newly added Monte Sereno from
redistricting) and what the supervisor is up to, is not the sole
contribution Wasserman has made since he took office, Dec. 7,
2010.
The Board of Supervisors for Santa Clara County oversees local
government and sets policy on unincorporated Santa Clara
County.
Settled into his 10th-floor office in San Jose at the County
Government Center, Wasserman is surrounded by photos of his family,
a framed tribute to Giants’ slugger Barry Bonds next to an American
flag and adjacent to a pair of clean, white sneakers in the corner
by the door.
On one wall – that he can see when he sits at his desk – is no
ordinary white board, hidden behind wooden doors.
“Lower ongoing county expenses,” “Notification to new
constituents,” “Increase outreach” and “Modify the Habitat
Conservation Plan” are some of the goals he hopes to accomplish. To
the right of those goals are lines written in green ink of goals
Wasserman has accomplished, such as “10 percent salary reductions
for new employees,” “Compensation Attrition Plan,” or “Winery Task
Force.”
And in blue ink as a reminder: “A head for numbers and a heart for
people,” a phrase that someone used to describe him.
“I set this to big things we’re working on, big things we’ve done.
When you complete something, it gets crossed out,” he said.
And he says big things have been crossed off. The 53-year-old
registered Republican who was sworn in Jan. 31, 2011 has been busy.
The Winery Task Force has been meeting nearly every week since
August, and began because of a campaign promise he made in South
County.
“I told them if I ever got into office, that I would look into
existing laws and see what things can improve,” he said.
The task force looks at current rules and regulations relevant to
wineries in the area, and what can be clarified in terms of
possible expansion of these wineries. Wasserman has sent a
representative to nearly every meeting and has attended three
himself. One of the biggest changes, he said, was the issue on
water storage tanks.
“We looked at state requirements. Napa (Valley) requirements and
found that the county requirements far exceed the state
requirements,” Wasserman said.
What used to be a 100,000-gallon tank requirement for vineyards is
now reduced to 7,500-gallon tank, which saves thousands of dollars
for winery owners.
“Right there, a breakthrough and improvement that came as a direct
result of my getting the planning and building department to
communicate and ask questions to farmers and wineries. And there’s
more improvements to be made, more positive things to come,” he
said.
The planning and building department will make a final
recommendation of regulations to the board of supervisors probably
in spring, said Wasserman.
Wasserman mentioned other self-proclaimed accomplishments; his
self-titled CAP or Comprehensive Attrition Plan he used when he was
mayor and a councilmember of Los Gatos. It asks those that plan to
retire to inform their bosses as soon as possible, instead of the
typical two-weeks notice. Then, they are to determine if the
position needs to be replaced.
“If not, you reduce the size of government and reduce costs, and
that’s a winner. If not, then you made available opportunity to
move up, promoting from within. Now you ask, does that job need to
be replaced?”
He also takes pride that he’s balanced the budget without one-time
funds, “for the first time this century.”
“It’s like you kick the can down the road, it doesn’t solve the
problem, it just puts it off,” he said about one-time funds. For
example, he said, selling land is a one-time fund to help
balance.
Balancing that budget also took new regulations: all new county
employees come in with a salary that is 10 percent less, this year
300 people were let go which is 2 percent of the county workforce’s
of 15,000 employees and reduces the overall size of government, he
said. Also, all county employees took a 6 to 7 percent reduction in
their compensation. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
passed its $4.1 billion balanced budget on time last June.
“So as a result of all that, we reduce the budget by cuts, not
one-time funds. So that’s a huge change. That should also make our
deficit for next year much less. Reduce workforce, compensation of
the workforce is that much smaller,” Wasserman said.
But not all he’s done has been welcomed by his constituents. His
controversial vote against the banning of single-use bags-both
plastic and paper, to encourage people to bring their own bag – was
met with criticism.
“What I asked the board, was to address both things separately
(paper versus plastic),” he said. “I’m opposed to plastic bags.
Plastic bags are what’s floating in our creeks, ocean, what don’t
break down. If you put a paper bag in the ground, it will
decompose.”
Swanee Edwards, a Morgan Hill resident and on the Santa Clara
County Democratic Party central committee, said so far, she likes
what Wasserman has done.
Last year, she noticed that Hale Avenue, considered a county road,
had yet another accident in spring. She contacted Wasserman’s
office to see if anything could be done. She was impressed by his
communication skills and quick response.
“He was just amazing. He contacted his roads and traffic people
come out and did a study, engineer and come to talk to folks,” she
said. “I also think he’s doing a great job with the vintners trying
to get our regulations softened so that our wineries can flourish.
He’s really proactive, he wants to inform residents.”
It’s no wonder his sneakers sit idly near the door, ready to be put
on.
“They say I get things done at tennis shoes speed,” Wasserman
said.