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It's 8 a.m., and she already has a meeting with the town manager. Sandy Decker enters the room with her usual cup of coffee from the Los Gatos Coffee Roasting Company. She's chosen a gray suit for the day. With her hair styled and glasses on, the mayor of Los Gatos looks sharp and ready for business—the first sign of what's in store for her that day.
After exchanging a few niceties, Decker and Town Manager Debra Figone immediately settle down to business.
They start by debriefing on the most recent town council meeting, then switch over to reviewing the tentative schedule for the May 5 council agenda. An item on the list catches the mayor's attention, and she asks Figone for details on the ongoing streetscape improvement project. As they move on to the May 19 agenda, the town manager warns Decker that the big item for that meeting will be the town's budget for the 200304 fiscal year.
As the meeting goes on, Decker whips out her personal digital assistant to check her schedule for the upcoming weeks. The two women then plow through the June agendas and hurry on to other issues.
Decker shares some of her ideas for a speech she will give during the town's volunteer recognition event. The meeting ends with Figone going over Decker's schedule for that day.
It's 9:20 a.m. when the meeting ends. Decker hops into her Honda hybrid, which bears the license plate "CYOUNLG," and drives to downtown San Jose for her next meeting.
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Photograph by George Sakkestad
9:50 a.m.—A strong advocate of environmental issues, Sandy Decker drives a Honda hybrid with the license plate, 'CYOUNLG.' The mayor has plans to appear on a television show to talk about hybrid cars and an American Lung Association clean vehicle resolution.
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On the way over, Decker recognizes a man who is putting out a sign on the street. She honks, and he waves back.
Decker is on her way to a meeting with the county's Air Pollution Prevention Committee, of which she serves as vice chair. The committee members sit through a heavy discussion. With lack of funding, the committee may have to disband. The work that committee members handle may now fall under the responsibility of another group that oversees waste management.
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Photograph by George Sakkestad
10 a.m.—Air Pollution Prevention Committee staff member Carol Sanzone Berg greets the Los Gatos mayor before the start
of the meeting.
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As the discussion appears to wind down, Decker rises from the table and politely excuses herself. She must leave early to make it to her next meeting. Before heading out of the building, she steps into the restroom to reapply her lipstick.
On the drive back into Los Gatos, Decker exits onto Lark Avenue from Highway 17 and turns onto University Avenue. The road is lined with trees, and a view of Vasona Reservoir can be seen through the branches. This is her favorite stretch of road, and she always takes this route back into town, she says.
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Photograph by George Sakkestad
12:15 p.m.—Saratoga City Manager Dave Anderson (middle) and Tom Sullivan, community development director of Saratoga, listen as an animated Sandy Decker makes small talk before lunch is served at a meeting of West Valley mayors and managers.
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Her next stop is Campo di Bocce for a lunch meeting with other West Valley mayors and city managers. The house salad and pasta salads come in big bowls meant to serve a large group. Still, the mayor only takes a small portion of each dish for herself. Throughout lunch, she orders two more mugs of decaffeinated coffee, which she takes with one packet of Equal sweetener.
After everyone has had a chance to eat, Decker calls the meeting to order. The meeting focuses on how the cities can work with the county's planning department. Decker, as chairwoman, then steers the conversation to one about economic vitality programs.
The meeting ends at 1:35 p.m. She glances at her watch, pleasantly surprised to find she has an hour before her next meeting. She decides to head home.
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Photograph by George Sakkestad
2:10 p.m.—Without a minute to waste, Sandy Decker takes advantage of an hour between meetings to rush home and check for messages. Here she sits at the desk in her home office.
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Stepping out of her car in front of the driveway, Decker greets the gardener tending her yard. It's 2:05 p.m. when she finally steps into her home office. She immediately opens her laptop and checks her voicemail: six new messages. She attempts to get online, but the connection to the Internet is momentarily down. Typically, she receives 15 to 30 emails per day, the mayor says.
As it gets closer to her 2:30 p.m. meeting, Decker returns to town hall to meet with staff to discuss a future appearance on the television show Environmental Concerns, which will feature local politicians talking about a clean-vehicle resolution. Decker plans to talk about hybrid cars.
An hour later, Decker heads out the door but is stopped by Patsy Garcia, the secretary to the manager, who needs the mayor to look over some documents and make some decisions regarding the volunteer recognition event.
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Photograph by George Sakkestad
3 p.m.—Parks and public works employee Steve Regan and administrative analyst Jenny Haruyama discuss with the mayor her future appearance on a television show concerning environmental issues.
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Now Decker is running a bit behind schedule. Her next visit is to Fisher Middle School to witness students building model racecars. A kid calls out to her, "Hello, mayor!" which causes Decker to smile, and she waves. Though it's not planned, Decker later makes her way over to another after-school program down the hall called "The Zone." She introduces herself to the adults in charge, hands them her business card and offers to come back and speak to the children.
It's about 4:30 p.m. The day's work is almost done. The Town of Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce is throwing a mixer later that evening. But before she heads over, she's got some time to kill. Decker decides to return to the Los Gatos Coffee Roasting Company. Before she's made it all the way up to the counter, the employee is already making her order. The usual: a triple latte—decaffeinated.
For the first time all day, Decker sits back and catches her breath. Though the role of mayor demands much of her time, she acknowledges that she's in a great position to serve the town. With no other full-time job and with her children all grown, she has "time to give," she says.
She mentions a family vacation to Hawaii come June. Her son and daughter-in-law will vacation for a week, but she can only manage to take four days off. With regard to the time commitment of an elected official, Decker says: "I knew it would be like this, and I'm fine. I know what it takes to do the job the way I want to."
A last sip of her coffee and she prepares to drive over to the Chamber mixer. People swarm around for an opportunity to speak to her. Greg Stowers, chairman of the Chamber's board, makes an announcement that the mayor is present that evening. Marty Woodworth, the town's redevelopment manager, marches over to Decker and calls out, "Here's my favorite mayor!" as they hug.
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Photograph by George Sakkestad
6:35 p.m.—At the end of a busy day, Sandy Decker unwinds by joking at a Chamber mixer with (from left) Los Gatos Bicycle Racing Club member Barry Gordon; Los Gatos Redevelopment Manager Marty Woodworth; and Greg Stowers, president of the Town of Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce board.
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This is the last event before Decker is to head home for the night. Another day passes in the life of the mayor, but more work awaits her the next day.
"When I wake up in the morning, I wake up to my own fondest dream, which is being mayor of the town I love most," Decker says.
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Photograph by George Sakkestad