Barbara Spector first came to Los Gatos in 1967, when she was teaching high school in Milpitas. She and her colleagues came to dinner at Gordo's restaurant in Old Town one Friday evening.

"I came into this town and I fell in love," she says. "And I know it sounds schmaltzy, but that passion has never gone away."

It may be schmaltzy, but listening to Spector talk about the town, it's obvious she's telling the truth. She and her husband, Ira Spector, have traveled throughout the world (they've even written a book about their experiences in France), but she says they have yet to find a place they would rather live.

Spector, who has been an attorney for 26 years, has a bit of history with town government. She was a planning commissioner from 1980 to 1988, modifying the General Plan and developing the first downtown and hillside specific plans.

"We created ... protections for hillsides, the historic district, historic homes and our neighborhoods and community areas," she says. "I think what we saw as a vision in the '80s has become the foundation for the planning commission and the council since then."

Though she says maintaining those types of protections would remain her main objective as a councilwoman, there is something else she says the town needs to address in the next few years.

"This is sort of an unusual election, because generally you have certain issues," she says. "This time, what we have is a condition, rather than a specific project, and the condition is the economy. What I see as the major issues in Los Gatos today either specifically involve the economy or relate to it."

Those major issues include both state "takeaways" of local tax revenue and declining revenues resulting from an economic slowdown.

The former, she says, will likely be addressed by Proposition 1A, which will limit California's ability to take money from city governments in the future. If that proposition does not pass, Los Gatos would need to work with the League of California Cities to come up with another solution.

Spector says the town council has done a pretty good job of dealing with its reduced revenue stream in the last three years by making small budget cuts that were not very noticeable. This year, though, that could not be avoided. Now, she says it's time to bring those revenues back.

"You as a council have to realize you have a symbiotic relationship with the commercial areas that provide your sales tax and you have to support one another," she says. "They need the revenue to stay in business. Los Gatos needs it to supply its services."

That will be made easier when the town hires a new economic vitality director, she says, but there are other things that can be done: create partnerships among local businesses; have businesses ready to move into any spots that may vacate; diversify the types of businesses in town in order to be less dependent on any one.

Another major issue facing the council will be what to do with the 40 acres along Los Gatos Boulevard between Highway 85 and Lark Avenue known as the "North 40." The town will soon be working to develop a specific plan for the area—considered to be the only significant undeveloped part of town.

Although she has no particular idea about what should happen to the land if and when the owners ever decide to sell it, she says that decision should not be made based on economic factors.

"I don't think that's a good way to make land-use decisions," she says. "I think land-use decisions need to be made on good planning, and I think that as a result of good planning, you create an economic vibrancy."

But at least until that vibrancy returns, Spector says, the town can make its dollars go further by partnering with community groups for some projects, as it did with the swimming pool at Los Gatos High School.

"I don't think we should assume that since the economy has been bad for the last several years, it's going to stay bad forever," she says. "But for the time being ... I see that there is going to have to continue to be a partnering between the public sector and the private sector.

"I think it would be wonderful if projects that benefited the residents of Los Gatos, be they 5 months old or 100 years old, could be funded by the town, but they can't. Therefore, you have to be creative and you have to look at your options and you have to come up with the best solution that you can."

With 26 years' experience as an attorney and business owner, Spector says her skills in mediation and financial management would help her tackle the town's most pressing needs.

"What I do as a mediator is I look at different situations, and I educate myself on them, and then I identify what the parties' interests are—what do they really want? I come up with options and then try and help them to resolve the case."

As a 31-year resident of the town, Spector says she'd like to help resolve the town's issues and keep it a place that people love.

Which just goes to show—coming to dinner in Los Gatos can be a much longer time commitment than one might expect.