Mark Santoro candidate statement
Candidate Statement of: Mark Santoro
Occupation: Engineer Age: 50
In the United States we are supposed to have a government of
the people, by the people, and for the people. In the City of
Cupertino we must do a better job on the "for the people" part.
Specifically, when looking at building within the city, I have
seen large condo developments where neighbors were very much
against those projects. I have seen building codes passed like the
35% upper floor ratio when most resident of Cupertino were against
it. I have seen 30+ year residents of Cupertino sell their homes due
to overly restrict residential hillside (RRS) overlays on residential (Rl)
lots. Although not a single citizen from Cupertino spoke in favor of
this overlay, I have seen the frustration of good friends and neighbors
as they were stalled for 3 years trying to remove this unjust ordinance
from the books. These burdens should not be placed on our citizens.
I want to be part of a city council that works to remove such
unjust laws. Our elected officials need to remember that they are the
servants of the people and not the other way around. As a member
of our city council I pledge to work "for the people."