Dear Editor,

At the March 8 Democracy CafŽ, our round-table discussion led to a history lesson, an array of ideas for informing the public about candidates, and an action plan to push for one of those ideas.

The history lesson explains why Milpitas pays its police so much. Back in the mid-1970s we didn't pay them well. So, after we recruited and trained an officer, he would move on to another city's police force for better pay and benefits. Around the same time, we realized that multilingual officers would become critical as more non-English speakers settled in Milpitas. To address these two problems, plus the growing menace of gang activity, city leaders chose another path one that focused on recruiting and retaining quality officers through generous compensation.

As our conversation moved into the realm of political campaigns, the subjects of money and communication naturally arose. Although it is clear from past campaigns that money funds delivery of the candidate's message (mostly through mailers, newspaper ads and lawn signs), we talked about less expensive, more democratic forms. SmartVoter.org is one way for candidates to communicate with voters. A blog is another. KitchenDemocracy.org offers a forum to discuss and vote on issues of local concern. We discussed the possibility of producing a program that allowed candidates to speak at length on issues, unlike the narrow format of a standard debate. The program could be aired on local Channel 26, made

The idea that sparked the most interest was asking the city to post statements from candidates on the city's Web site. Although we also discussed the potential support by the city of filming and airing candidate statements along with purchases of ad space in the Milpitas Post for candidates, the negligible cost and ease of posting candidate statements on the city's Web site inspired a few of us to petition the city council at its March 18 meeting.

Our next two Democracy CafŽ meetings are Saturday, March 22 and April 5, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. If you would like to participate, or want stay informed about future meetings, please contact us by calling 262-0420 or e-mailing sna@electric-bikes.com.

Rob Means, Sunnyhills Neighborhood Association

treasurer