 | | | Ken Chew Photo Sophie Braccini
| | | | | | This is the second time Ken Chew will sit in the mayor's seat and wield the gavel as the leader of the Town Council, setting the tone for the town in 2014.
Chew, a professional civil engineer and project manager in the construction and transportation field, was born and raised in Malaysia. After completing his education at the University of Wisconsin, he and his wife Aly relocated to the Bay Area and raised two sons in Moraga. The well-traveled Chew believes that Moraga is the best place on earth.
Although the title comes with no additional voting power, being mayor means Chew does have a few privileges - like working with the town manager to set Town Council meeting agendas and keeping order during meetings.
During his tenure on the council, Chew has been known for saying what he thinks. "I have the courage to speak my mind, and I don't feel pressured to be popular," he said. "Some politicians are afraid of the elections and say that they you have to be careful in an election year; I don't do that. I believe that if I make the honorable decision, Moraga residents will continue to appreciate my service and support me."
This year Chew would like to further a change of style as the head of the town. "I will rely on staff a lot; listen to, and value, their recommendations," he said. "I want our very competent staff to be involved in issues from the beginning. People should not try to push issues through council members alone; communication can and should start with staff members, who then will bring the topic to the council if needed." Chew believes it is respectful to allow staff to do their jobs. "It is not to discourage (residents from) open communication with their elected officials," he said. "The role of the council is to make policy decisions and not to advocate issues for any special interest group; and staff's role is to make recommendations based on their professional knowledge and experience."
In developing an initial list of goals for the town for 2014, Chew has already brought some change. "We are working together with Jill (Keimach, the town manager) to prepare for the goal setting session," he said. "This year we will not have hours of brainstorming because the council has done a great job in the last few years steering the town in the right direction. Many of this year's goals are continuations of those set in previous years. Together with input from fellow council members, staff, and residents, I will set most of my new goals for 2014 by building onto our successes in the past."
The preliminary list includes what is always the first goal in Moraga: fiscal sustainability and a balanced budget. Chew would like to see refinement of the capital improvement plan for all of the town's assets. "We are doing very well with our roads, but the town owns other properties and we need to be very clear on the maintenance and/or future of these assets," he said, including the land known as the "Back 40" that the town leases to the Moraga Country Club.
"This year we will complete Phase 2 of the Measure K neighborhood streets pavement program and the retrofit of 331 Rheem where we will conduct our public meetings," said Chew. Having a permanent meeting place will finally permit the realization of something Chew has been asking for since his first term: live video steaming and recording of Town Council meetings. "This is part of the enhancement of transparency and communication," said the mayor.
Other activities will include building on the good relationship with Saint Mary's College, a dialogue between the town, the school district, the high school and the college for shared use of sports fields, a strategic plan for the Hacienda de las Flores and emergency preparedness training for council members.
In addition Chew will support several efforts that are already underway, such as streamlining the planning process, revising the sign ordinance and completing a climate action plan. As to the planned review of rules that apply to hillside and ridgeline development, "We will receive community input and consider zoning revision as appropriate," said Chew.
This is the last year of Chew's second four-year term on the Town Council; he plans to run for a third term next fall.
The goal-setting session for 2014 will be Tuesday, Jan. 14, 6:30 p.m. at the Hacienda de las Flores - all Moragans are welcome. The mayor encourages residents to submit suggestions for goals in advance of the meeting to Jill Keimach, town manager, jkeimach@moraga.ca.us.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA