File photo of Savita Vaidhyanathan at the Cupertino City Council office, March 30, 2016. (Amar D. Gupta/Siliconeer)

An Indian American woman, who was elected as the first woman Mayor of Cupertino, seeks re-election to Cupertino City Council. A Siliconeer report.

Former Mayor of Cupertino, Savita Vaidhyanathan says, “My family and I are proud to call Cupertino our home.  We’ve had the pleasure of living here and being active participants in our local community for over 23 years.  Our daughter is a graduate of Cupertino’s excellent public-school system. I too am a product of local schools. I took business pre-requisite courses at De Anza College and received my MBA from San Jose State University. “It is my passion to work for the well-being of Cupertino residents. For this reason, I continue to serve on City Council and seek your vote to re-elect me this November. “

California State Assemblymember Evan Low.

“No one has worked harder than Savita Vaidhyanathan to advance real transportation solutions for Cupertino and our region,” says California State Assemblymember Evan Low.

California State Senator Jim Beall.

“Savita is passionate about and understands Housing and Transportation. She demonstrated great leadership in voting for the Vallco Specific Plan,” says California State Senator Jim Beall.

Here are some areas where Savita wants to focus, when re-elected:

Transportation. Savita was appointed to serve on the Board of Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) to represent the five West Valley Cities. Commuters and parents need alternatives to surface street gridlock.  Her long-term vision includes new multi-modal interconnected transit to connect Cupertino with its neighboring cities and mass transit hubs such as CalTrain and BART.

Near term relief options include securing “our fair share of resources from Valley Transit Authority (VTA), bus route signaling optimization, shuttle services, ride sharing options, safer cycling infrastructure for kids and families, and expanded walking trails.” For the youth, Vaidhyanathan encouraged Safe Routes to School programs, attended multiple “Walk/Bike to School” events, piloted POGO carpool app at Cupertino High School to reduce stress on parents, voted for infrastructure improvement including expansion of bike paths and trails.

Housing. Teachers, police, firefighters and other city service workers need affordable housing near their workplace. Providing affordable housing is critical to ensure our community’s needs will be met.

Separately, she wants to ensure seniors can smoothly transition from their current homes to age friendly housing. “We want them to remain in our community for continuity and to maintain our multi-generational lifestyle. I will fight for senior housing inclusion in all new development projects,” says Savita. She approved 19- unit affordable senior apartment complex with easy access to retail, dining, and public transportation, launched RYDE (Reach Your Destination Easily) for senior curb-to-curb mobility, and championed Cupertino’s designation as Age Friendly city by World Health Organization.

Environment. Clean air, clean water and natural open spaces are essential for human physical and mental well-being. Savita will continue driving for higher standards and more robust measurement of Lehigh Permanente’s emissions. She has also launched Silicon Valley Clean Energy enabling residents to use clean electricity from renewable and non-polluting energy sources, won Platinum Spotlight award for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, initiated sustainability programs with FUHSD, CUSD and local hotels to encourage waste and energy reduction, and led student organization to find innovative ways to re-purpose plastics and reduce waste directed to landfills.

“Climate change is also something we can help tackle at the local level. Count on me to remain a steadfast supporter of Community Choice Energy since it is (a) cutting greenhouse gases and (b) saving money for Cupertino residents,” confirms Savita.

Savita Vaidhyanathan, while in office as Mayor, restored July 4thFireworks to Cupertino after a three-year hiatus. She spoke at several community events to a wide ethnicity range including Armenian, Chinese, Indian, Italian, Japanese, and Korean and has participated in cultural holiday celebrations including Baha’i, Christmas, Diwali, Hanukkah, and Ramadan. She keynoted over 10 “Girls in Government,” “School Career Days” and “Understand How Your Government Works” events within Cupertino middle and high schools.

Today, there is momentum in the initiatives she has led. She is now seeking your vote for a second term as your Councilmember to advance these causes.

““Healthy communities are built through our residents’ active participation. Even with my City Council duties I am deeply involved in community activities; remaining accessible to you and listening to your feedback. I ask for your vote again in 2018. Together, we will make progress on these critical important issues. Let’s keep Cupertino the wonderful place that we all know and love to call our home!”

Interested readers can learn more at http://www.savita4cupertino.com