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MAYOR PAULINE RUSSO CUTTER NOVEMBER 2019
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<br />This memo outlines the required justification for a Mayoral salary increase as outlined in the ‘Guidelines
<br />regarding the setting of the Mayor’s Salary’ described in the Council Member’s Handbook, appendix A.
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<br />In my 21 years of elected and dedicated public service, first as a Board Member of the San Leandro Unified
<br />School District, then Councilmember, and now as Mayor serving the residents and City of San Leandro, my
<br />current capacity is the highlight of my public service career. Working alongside my colleagues, city staff, and the
<br />community, we have brought many exciting projects and initiatives to fruition. As I reflect on what I’ve
<br />accomplished as Mayor in partnership with the City Council and city staff, I’m enthusiastic about what the future
<br />holds for our great city.
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<br />San Leandro is flourishing. During my first year in office as Mayor, we issued a permit for the City’s first medical
<br />cannabis dispensary, expanded our Wi‐Fi to downtown, broke ground on major park upgrades, created a
<br />homeless task force, welcomed dozens of new businesses, decreased the City’s unemployment by 6.1%, and
<br />launched several communication platforms. Since then, I have worked on many resiliency projects for our City.
<br />I believe I’m responsible for the City hiring the first Sustainability Manager in San Leandro to ensure that we are
<br />paying attention to climate change issues. With that topic in mind, I was responsible for obtaining two $25,000
<br />grants from Cities of Service of the Bloomberg Foundation. One of the grants was used to start the Adopt‐A‐
<br />Drain program and the other for more disaster preparedness efforts. The plan doesn’t stop there, but rather will
<br />culminate in a volunteer platform for our City’s residents to use.
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<br />I joined the US Conference of Mayors Climate Compact to make sure that our City stays on pace to reduce our
<br />carbon footprint by 80% by the year 2050. Another example of my leadership is the San Leandro Homeless
<br />Compact. The first of its kind in the State, it was introduced to provide housing for chronically homeless
<br />residents. In partnership with Building Futures and the Rental Housing Association, we started with the goal of
<br />housing 25 individuals; however, we’ve now proudly housed nearly 60 individuals. In addition to working with
<br />staff to increase our services for the homeless, we now have a reliable schedule for the warming shelters in the
<br />winter and cooling centers during the warmer months. This is in addition to the partnership with April Showers
<br />providing showers to our homeless residents.
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<br />I am also very proud of negotiating an agreement with the Port of Oakland for $500,000 to help mitigate airport‐
<br />related impacts to the Davis West community. The original agreement for a mitigation program had expired;
<br />however, we were able to reach an agreement allowing the Port to fulfill their responsibilities to the community,
<br />and in my opinion, “do the right thing.”
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<br />There are many additional accomplishments of equal significance not listed here; however, I am most proud of
<br />the “kindness” movement that I initiated in our City. I established the movement with the attitude of how our
<br />community can help each other and the City. Our Police Department is now repeating the phrase “San Leandro
<br />is a City Where Kindness Matters,” as well as other departments city‐wide. The San Leandro Unified School
<br />District adopted curriculum for a “Kindness Week” for the elementary schools, and I often see people in our
<br />community wearing their “Kindness” buttons. I believe our Council shares and demonstrates those values as
<br />well.
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<br />As Mayor, I represent the City on many local, regional, state, and national boards, committees, and commissions.
<br />In our City, I conduct and chair all City Council meetings, work session meetings, and special meetings.
<br />Additionally, I chair four Council committees: Disaster Council, Facilities and Transportation Committee, Finance
<br />Committee, and Rules Committee. Because it is also so important to increase the City’s visibility and ensure that
<br />we have a place at the table when policy and funding decisions are being made, I serve on five regional boards,
<br />including East Bay Bus Rapid Transit Policy Steering Committee, on the nine‐county Bay Area Air Quality
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