And while the address was far-reaching, the message was very clear—Los Gatos residents are in good hands under the leadership of the new mayor and the current town council.

Paraphrasing a line from the film The American President, in serious times we need serious people in positions of leadership. We certainly have those people in place on the Los Gatos Town Council.

Decker outlined the objectives the council hopes to accomplish during her year of leadership, and, based on her message, she and the other council members have an impressive vision for the coming year.

She discussed Gov. Gray Davis' raid on vehicle license fee revenues, holding money at the state level that was targeted for town and city governments. But despite the anticipated $1.8 million loss for Los Gatos over the next two years, she remains "guardedly optimistic," indicating that the town has strong reserves to fall back on. We have the past council to thank for that.

She also voiced her concern about keeping sales tax dollars, which certainly had to be welcome news for town merchants. It only makes sense, in these tight economic times, to shop Los Gatos—it's good for local businesses, good for the town and, in turn, good for residents.

Redevelopment efforts—such as the streetscape improvement project downtown and gateways to enhance the town's identity—will continue, and a "priority partnership" to address the problem of alcohol and drug use among youths will soon be under way.

It is also the intention of the mayor and the council to better communicate with town residents. Decker outlined two programs designed to make local government more accessible.

The first, already in the works for two years, is the plan to televise town council meetings live over cable TV's Channel 15 (KCAT). The first live broadcast is scheduled for Feb. 18. KCAT will also rerun the taped meetings as scheduling permits during the week.

The council also has plans to take its show on the road. Decker outlined a program to hold town hall meetings in different locations throughout the community in an effort to allow better representation in the government process. It sounds something like government of the people, by the people, for the people—now there's a concept.

But that was exactly the tenor of Decker's address. She looks forward to her year in the mayor's chair to, she said, "pursue new opportunities to confront current challenges in what I hope will be a real spirit of community."

The driving theme in Decker's address was making town government a community effort. And it seems like Los Gatos has the right person in the driver's seat to make that happen.