Rob Means for Mayor

Voters face a clear choice in this year's mayoral election which could be framed as a contest between:

small businessman and community builder Rob Means	career politician and govt. bureaucrat Jose Esteves
green Democrat working for democracy and the middle class	conservative Republican cutting his way to a balanced budget
pollutant fees, smart energy, and effective government	lower taxes, fewer regulations and smaller government
increased revenue, adequate staffing, and democracy in the workplace	austerity, reduced staff, and outsourcing
broad prosperity and hope	free markets and fear
an Obama/Biden supporter	a Romney/Ryan supporter

The choice is clear - and it is yours to make. The 2012 election is a tipping point when your vote can make the difference between an accelerating economic and environmental slide or a reversal of those policies that make us less safe, less prosperous, and less connected as a community. This year's election could even break the logjam created by Republican obstructionism in Congress and the State legislature. That could clear the way for long-delayed, much needed change and new opportunities that could benefit Milpitas and its residents. A conservative leader who fears change, however, will resist such opportunities. (The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science-and Reality by Chris Mooney.) Rob Means, after a 20-year computer programming career and 15 years in the light electric vehicle business, is prepared to engage new opportunities as they arise.

The current Council team lacks someone with a progressive viewpoint, who thinks outside the box, who is willing to challenge the status quo and push the envelope of what government can achieve on behalf of our citizens. A progressive perspective will be needed as we enter into what has been variously called "the rapids of change", "the great turning", and "the long emergency". As a species, we are starting to confront the various crises that current institutions and strategies have created. Many strategies that worked for us in the past will fail us in these new turbulent times. We need to go beyond mega-corporate ways of serving our needs to embrace ways that nurture people and our environment.

The City Council team is responsible for choosing the strategies and policies that will guide us through the next challenging years. Wise choices by Council that support a broad prosperity and mutual responsibility will help us all to do better for ourselves, our families and our community.

If you want an effective City Council team balanced with a progressive voice that works together for a better future, vote Means for Mayor.

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Primary Issues of the 2012 Milpitas Council/Mayor Campaign

1. Balance the Budget through revenue increases, not more cuts in service and infrastructure maintenance. After reducing City staff by 20% - 25%, the incumbent Mayor will further reduce staff because he has no plan to counter the diminishing revenues needed to maintain staff and services. Instead, we can increase revenues through fees on various corporate-generated pollutants that harm our environment, our bodies and the sustainability of Milpitas.
2. Greening of Milpitas through energy efficiency and programs that make it easier for residents and businesses to "go solar".
3. Reduce our dependence on oil for transportation with a pilot project to cross over the RR tracks using advanced transit technology, followed by potential expansion into a citywide feeder system to the Milpitas BART/LRT/bus terminal.
4. Protect the Constitution and Democracy - pass the 28th Amendment that says corporations are not people and money is not speech, so we can reform our campaign finance rules to include public financing of campaigns.

Watch the two mayoral candidates discuss the issues in this 30-minute video from the Candidates Forum sponsored by the Milpitas Chamber of Commerce.

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"We, the People, recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights. That our destinies are bound together. That a freedom which only asks what's in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense." - Barack Obama acceptance speech, 2012.

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Means for Mayor, 408-262-0420, MeansForMayor@electric-bikes.com
    1421 Yellowstone Avenue, Milpitas, CA 95035       FPPC #: 1351750