By Bruce Barton

Mountain View Mayor Matt Neely talks about affordable housing, transportation and energy issues in his office at Mountain View High School where he works as vice principal.

Matt Neely was named Mountain View mayor in January after serving 2004 as vice mayor. Neely was the top vote-getter in the 2002 council election. Like Los Altos, councilmembers take turns as mayor in one-year stints. Neely occupies not one, but two high-profile positions in Mountain View - he also is vice principal at Mountain View High School. Neely, who recently married, lives in downtown Mountain View and is passionate about addressing the issues. The one-time social studies teacher is energetic and outspoken. The Town Crier sat down with Neely in his office at Mountain View High last week to talk about city issues near and dear to him.

What’s your take on the progress with the Mayfield development, and housing?

It’s unbelievable, the housing crisis. I’m searching for a home with my wife. I don’t have the (financial) problem most have. How do you get to live where you grew up? The answer is, you don’t! That’s not fair. It’s going to lead to more uprootedness. What can we do? We have a moral obligation to address housing issues and I think Mountain View needs to be out front. That’s where Mayfield comes in. We’re the second densest city in the county. We have done our part. And I’m still pushing for more housing even though some will say, wait a minute, what about the other cities? I don’t govern Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. One really great story about Mountain View is we have these efficiency studios going in, at San Antonio Circle, very affordable for people making in the 20s, 30s and 40s.

Mayfield will be nice condos and homes on a huge plot of land - it’s going to increase the overall supply. We’re making plans to build what are called row houses (denser, single-family units that are narrower than traditional homes). It’s another kind of housing that makes the spectrum work. Hundreds of thousands of people still need to live here (statewide) and we have to do a better job. Housing is my first priority as mayor.

How do you see transportation as a priority?

I grew up in Oakland riding BART and buses. The whole infrastructure’s a mess because you can’t really get where you want to go in the South Bay. We are lucky in Mountain View because we do have light rail, decent buses and we have those nice shuttles that the business people have taken over to get their people to work. It’s relatively effective. I don’t believe BART’s the answer because the finances are so out of whack.

What do you see as the city’s biggest challenges?

The housing challenge is the biggest one. The ongoing financial challenge is something that more and more people understand now. The reality is, we don’t have taxing structures to pay for the services we’d like. Since we like rec programs and parks and police and fire, we have to find ways to pay for it. And we’re not doing that. We like good schools and we don’t pay (enough) for those. Californians aren’t willing to tax themselves, so that’s a bind. That’s a big government question. Mountain View’s facing that, Los Altos - all these communities are facing, what do we cut now? We have been so conservative (with the budget). We’re one of only three cities in the entire state of California, 450 cities in all, with a triple-A bond rating. We have careful long-range planning and reserves. The city has used its resources in a very lean way. Our city manager Kevin Duggan is one of a kind, one of the premier (managers) in the state.

The third challenge for me is that we have to recognize the diversity of our area. We have 40-45 percent people of color, 30-40 percent non-native speakers. I want to push on the diversity of our community without being trite.

Would that mean programs to increase awareness?

It is substantive to talk about diversity, to put it on the table. I went to China in January. It’s moving so fast; it will zip by us. Unless we are equipped to talk about the world, we have got to become a better society at dealing with people with different backgrounds. We live in a multicultural society - we’ve got to be good at working with one another.

What else are you passionate about?

I’m really getting excited about alternative energy. I drive a hybrid vehicle and I love it. I’m excited about solar power and the costs and benefits of it. We’re doing this great thing in Mountain View where, we have a landfill out at Shoreline Park, and methane gas is escaping. Alza Corp. is flaring this gas to power its building, so they’re not buying electricity. Water supply’s another issue that affects Los Altos because Los Altos residents got very upset when we built this reservoir (on Miramonte) but we need a healthful water supply in case Hetch Hetchy goes down, and we’re doing it.

How is the council involved in the Moffett Field transition?

We’re all involved in various groups - we meet with NASA quarterly and with the military. It’s hard to get a handle on these things. We do not want that airfield to be commercial, but keeping it open for emergency use, is important.

How about the downsizing of public access station KMVT?

We had a collaboration that was very healthy, nearly $1 million. And there was a foundation set up. What we did as part of a deal to make them self-sufficient was turn over the endowment to them. They’re seeing that their financial model doesn’t pan out. They had too many employees for their funding. They moved into a brand new facility, which is great. It’s too bad because they do provide such a great service. Anything providing an alternative to the mainstream media helps people. They’re still going to be fine.

What are your thoughts on the day worker center?

It’s absolutely un-American to protest people who want to work. Here’s a segment of our society that folks don’t know enough about. There’s discrimination; there’s violence. I’ve been pretty clear I’ve been supporting them. It’s unfortunate that people would be frustrated by folks looking for work on the street on the same day that they’re employing folks to rebuild their fence. I think what happened with Los Altos (losing a lawsuit against the day-worker center) was a bummer, because they lost $70,000 that could have paid for a full-time worker for two years to help solve the problem.

Other issues?

There are over 5,000 kids who do not have child care in Mountain View. There are 2,700 slots in after-school day care for 8,200 kids. We have got to do a better job providing for our kids. I do not believe it’s a private function; I believe it’s a public function, especially (ages) 0-5. I’ve pushed hard to get a city-funded child-care center; it’s going to take a lot of work to do everything else we can to zone to help cultivate proper care. Mom can’t stay home any more. If we make mom stay home, then the family can’t live here. There’s got to be another structure to help take care of little ones. That’s the issue that I think is underreported, lack of child care. Push resources to it and give help to setting them up. I don’t mean just nursery centers, I mean after-school programs - get rid of latchkey kids. Give grants so that child-care providers know the law and know the best practices. For every $1 we spend, we save $7 on the other end - on prisons.

How do you manage two high-profile positions?

It’s challenging. I have to be efficient. I have to get leverage from my bosses. I’ve used 12 vacation days in 3 months. But here’s my inspiration: If working people can’t serve in government, we’re doomed; because then we will have a government of the wealthy. Plato talked about it. We don’t need career politicians, we need citizen politicians. Because I talk to 1,000 kids every day, theoretically I do all the outreach I need. I think it makes me a better leader because I understand. You have to make city services good for people who work and are busy because most people work and are busy.