DALY CITY — Four candidates, including two incumbents, are fighting for three council seats in San Mateo County’s largest city.
Brisbane School District board President Tom Ledda and former Daly City Councilwoman Judith Christensen face Councilmen Mike Guingona and Ray Buenaventura. Vice Mayor Carol Klatt decided to step down this year after 21 years on the council.
Daly City is attempting to solve a $3 million chronic budget deficit caused in part by unfunded obligations to retired employees. The city’s general fund budget for the current fiscal year is $72.8 million.
Ledda, 56, has served for two decades as a trustee for the Brisbane district, which overlaps with Daly City. He said the board’s accomplishments during his tenure include maintaining a healthy budget during economic downturns and passing two parcel taxes to save the small K-8 district’s music and art classes.
The retired owner of a plumbing business counts public safety and youth and senior services among his top priorities. His top selling point is communication. If elected, he pledges to get out in the community and make himself available to his constituents.
“The community wants more visibility from the council,” said Ledda, who serves on the city’s Recreation Commission.
Christenen, 67, is trying to return to the council after a six-year absence. She served one term before losing her 2008 re-election bid to challenger David Canepa, who is now mayor.
After caring for her ailing mother and recuperating from two knee replacements, Christensen said she feels ready to serve again.
“I’m energized, I’m healthy, I’m ready to go,” she said.
There are plenty of problems that need fixing, Christensen said, including police and fire departments that are not adequately staffed, libraries with limited hours of operation and broken streetlights.
Besides addressing those issues, Christensen said she wants to enact 12-year term limits for council members and stop the council’s practice of electing a mayor. It’s an unnecessary custom that invites horse-trading, she said; the titles of mayor and vice mayor should rotate, as they do in many other cities.
Guingona, 52, is one of the council members who have benefited from Daly City’s lack of term limits. He is seeking a sixth four-year term. He said his popularity speaks to his effectiveness as a leader.
“When you really love what you’re doing and you have pride in the job that you do, I think it shows through,” said Guingona, who runs his own law practice and serves as an assistant wrestling coach at Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco.
Guingona heaped more responsibilities on his plate this year. He trained and studied for 900 hours to become a second lieutenant in the California State Military Reserve, a volunteer force that supports the National Guard. He also was certified as a mixed martial arts judge.
The incumbent’s main concerns include affordable housing, public health, and youth and senior services. He supported the city’s crackdown this year on electronic cigarettes and the 2011 merging of the city’s library and recreation departments.
Buenaventura did not respond to interview requests. He was appointed to the council in April 2011 to replace Maggie Gomez, who resigned after pleading no contest to workers’ compensation fraud, and won an election that November to become her permanent replacement. In June he lost an election to become a San Mateo County Superior Court judge.
Contact Aaron Kinney at 650-348-4357. Follow him at Twitter.com/kinneytimes.
