SaveBAREC Endorses Steve Tedesco for San Jose City Council District 6

On Sunday, February 11, SaveBAREC voted unanimously to support Steve Tedesco for San Jose City Councilman District 6. BAREC (Bay Area Research and Extension Center) is 17 acres of agriculturally zoned land on Winchester Boulevard across from Valley Fair owned by the State. It is bounded on two sides by District 6 but is within the city limits of Santa Clara. SaveBAREC believes that Tedesco has excellent credentials to address their issues.

San Jose, CA (PRWEB) February 18, 2007 -- On Sunday, February 11, SaveBAREC voted unanimously to support Steve Tedesco for San Jose City Councilman District 6. BAREC (Bay Area Research and Extension Center) is 17 acres of agriculturally zoned land on Winchester Boulevard across from Valley Fair owned by the State. It is bounded on two sides by District 6 but is within the city limits of Santa Clara. Following are the reasons for this support:

1. Tedesco is the only candidate who has experience keeping public land public. It is not enough to only support saving BAREC. The process to save it is equally as important. While on the Campbell Unified School District Board Tedesco kept public land public by trading it between government agencies. He also was involved in preserving the Valley's only FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America) educational land in Campbell. He grew up in his family's Picchetti Ranch above Stevens Creek Reservoir. It was later sold to the Peninsula Open Space District.
2. Tedesco understands the law which requires government agencies to offer public land to state and local governments. However, San Jose (and other government agencies) were not offered BAREC. For this reason these 17 acres are now on a possible park plan for San Jose.
3. Tedesco has many creative ideas for the process of how BAREC will remain agriculturally zoned open space. He is a problem solver. Given that the BAREC issues have been around for many years, we need a public official who understands the issues and will finally resolve the BAREC problem.
4. Tedesco's experience is needed to negotiate with the world's fifth largest economy, the State of California. We cannot afford to elect a councilperson who will need 'on the job' training to do this. The State and City of Santa Clara want to place housing on BAREC. Their Final EIR is due to come out within the next two months. Therefore, negotiations must start immediately after the election.
5. Given that Tedesco's family has an agricultural background in the Valley, that he grew up near Santana Row (his mother still lives in his family home), and that he visited BAREC as a child, he is the only candidate that understands the importance of saving our Valley's most important piece of agricultural history.
6. Given Tedesco's experience as Director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley, he is the only candidate that understands today's children's health issues (obesity, middle age diseases, ADD), and how BAREC can improve this situation. The healthy food grown at BAREC with its educational programs could turn these problems around. His degree in environmental planning helps him see the relationship of open space to clean air and health.

This is the first political candidate SaveBAREC has supported. SaveBAREC believes that Tedesco has excellent credentials to address their issues. To view the candidate opinions of BAREC please visit: http://www.SaveBAREC.org/barec-positions/index-d6.html. Also, visit SaveBAREC: http://www.SaveBAREC.org or call Kathryn Mathewson 408-292-9595 or 888-BAREC-80.

###