MOUNTAIN VIEW — Mountain View City Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga has announced her candidacy for the El Camino Hospital Healthcare District Board in the November election.
Abe-Koga, who is termed out, has been on the City Council since 2006 and served as vice mayor in 2008 and mayor in 2009. She is the first Asian American woman to serve on the council.
A campaign kick-off was held June 22 at Steins Beer Garden and Restaurant in Mountain View.
In a statement on her campaign website, Abe-Koga said:
“I’m excited to announce my candidacy for the El Camino Healthcare District, where I hope to continue my work in public service.
“Health and wellness have been priorities of mine in my personal life, in my work in elected office as a member of the Mountain View City Council, and in my professional work.
“On the council, I championed health and wellness through land use initiatives such as in our General Plan Update. I’ve also helped institute health and wellness programs for Mountain View city employees as well as for the community at large.
“Professionally, I work at Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI), a health and human services non-profit focused on providing multicultural and linguistically competent healthcare services to growing immigrant communities in the South Bay. AACI has wholeheartedly embraced federal healthcare reform and was recently named a Federally Qualified Healthcare Center by the Obama Administration.
“My work on the Santa Clara County LAFCO (Local Area Formation Commission) triggered my interest in serving on the El Camino Healthcare District. With the responsibility to oversee special districts in the county, I led LAFCO’s efforts to conduct an audit of the El Camino Healthcare District to ensure that district taxpayer funds were being expended to benefit the district residents. LAFCO provided a list of recommendations to improve transparency and accountability.
“The El Camino Healthcare District has since implemented these recommendations and as a result, has begun to improve many of its practices.
“I look forward to serving the El Camino Healthcare District with my experience in running a fiscally sound, efficient public agency that provides the highest level of services for the community. I’m known as a collaborative, effective, dedicated policymaker and will work with my colleagues, with staff, and with the community to ensure that El Camino Healthcare District:
“Provides 21st-century-quality healthcare for all;
“Responds to healthcare reform by providing patient-centered care that is accessible;
“Operates in a fiscally responsible manner, using taxpayer dollars efficiently and transparently.”
Abe-Koga’s endorsers include Rep. Anna Eshoo, State Sen. Jerry Hill, Assemblymembers Rich Gordon and Paul Fong, Santa Clara County Supervisors Cindy Chavez and Ken Yeager, Mountain View Mayor Chris Clark, Sunnyvale Mayor Jim Griffith, Campbell Mayor Rich Waterman, Cupertino Mayor Gilbert Wong, Palo Alto Mayor Nancy Shepherd, and Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews.