MOUNTAIN VIEW — Mountain View Mayor Margaret Abe-Koga will hold a “Re-elect MAK” lawn sign drive-thru pick-up on Friday, Aug. 21, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Pioneer Park, 1146 Church St. in Mountain View.
“While we cannot gather for an official campaign kickoff during these trying times, I’d love to invite you to our contact-less lawn sign drive-thru pick-up … We ask that all drive-thru attendees still wear face coverings,” said Abe-Koga. “In addition to lawn signs, face masks and hand sanitizer will be given as a token of appreciation … Thank you for your support.”
RSVP here: https://bit.ly/MAK4MV2020
Abe-Koga announced on July 28 that she qualified to appear on the Nov. 3 ballot to run for re-election to the City Council.
“It has been an honor to serve as your mayor and councilmember, in the city my husband and I settled in 22 years ago,” she said in a statement on her website. “Throughout the years, Mountain View has afforded us the opportunity to purchase our first home, raise two daughters, care for my aging parents and build a sense of community around us.
“I’ve worked hard to give back to this community that has given me so much through my involvement with the schools as a parent, volunteer, and county school board member, as a leader in my neighborhood association, as a board member on several nonprofit and grassroots organizations, and as your city councilmember and your mayor in 2009 and in 2020. I’ve worked hard to help make Mountain View the best city that it can be.
“We have certainly been in unprecedented times since the COVID-19 pandemic. Immediately after the Shelter in Place order, our city organization had to quickly pivot its operations to focus on response and relief efforts.
“As your mayor, I’ve worked to respond to the concerns and needs of our community by identifying resources internally and by reaching out to our partners at all levels of government as well as the private and nonprofit sectors. Working closely with my colleagues and our city staff, I initiated a $2.5M rent relief program — the largest in the county.
“To assist our small businesses, I also spearheaded a small business resiliency loan program. For property owners, we instituted a utility payment relief program. For the homeless and low-income families and individuals, we opened safe parking lots for vehicle dwellers, shower and laundry services, distributed meals, grocery gift card giveaways, masks and hygiene kits.
“And because of the fiscal restraints and innovative revenue generation measures my colleagues and I have taken over the last decade, we will be able to balance our budget without cuts despite the financial challenges of COVID-19.
“Looking forward, we face an uncertain financial outlook, and we will need to work together to rebuild our community in a variety of ways. I know the challenges ahead will be great, but I am confident we will get through them. As mayor in 2009, I led this city out of the Great Recession with little effect on city services, and together with your involvement developed this city to be a prosperous and highly desirable place to live, work, learn, and play.
“Furthermore, over my 12-year tenure on council, we developed a new blueprint for the city to take us well into the 21st century and formulated innovative and proactive approaches to address our top challenges of housing, transportation and environmental sustainability. To preserve our high quality, we’ve established safe and strong neighborhoods, ample parks and open space while maintaining our top notch city services.
“My experience in leading out of crisis, along with my extensive record of accomplishments, makes me the right person to continue to serve on the City Council at this critical time. I will work hard in a collaborative and compassionate manner with everyone to bring our city back to being the great place Mountain View is.”
Endorsers include Rep. Anna Eshoo, State Sen. Jerry Hill, Mountain View Professional Firefighters, and Sierra Club, Loma Prieta Chapter.