Issues

Governance

City government needs to meet people where they are at. As a councilmember, I supported and encourage more proactive outreach, including attending neighborhood events and existing meetings to listen to community members, having staff canvass our business districts to share information with small business owners, and hosted and attended onsite meetings ahead of proposed infrastructure work. I want to ensure that the community voice is heard and reflected in council priorities. We also need to do more to make our processes easier to access and navigate, remove barriers and reducing costs, prioritize transparency and accountability of city decision-making.

 

Quality of Life

The cost of living for families continues to rise and the city needs to do its part to ensure that vital services are maintained and meet community needs. Our families depend on responsive emergency service, robust recreation and parks programs including early childhood learning opportunities and classes for our seniors, and maintaining our shorelines and improving our multi-modal infrastructure.

 

Housing

We need to continue to address housing relief across the city in myriad ways: preventing further displacement by maintaining rent stabilization ordinances, investing in social housing, and building more homes. Alamedans need more homes, and every neighborhood throughout the city has a role to play. Preserving our history and building for our future are not competing goals. We need to continue to add new tools to help homeowners create more space for their families, help maintain historic buildings in a way that’s financially stable by streamlining permitting and reducing fees, and help our city add the housing we need – all while protecting the unique character of the Alameda we love.

 

Safety

Alameda biggest assets also create some of our biggest risks if we don’t nurture and invest in them. Climate change isn’t an existential crisis for us - we see and live its impacts every day. We need to take steps to protect natural areas along the shoreline to mitigate sea level rise, improve Alameda’s preparedness and resilience to natural disasters, and maintain response times for police and firefighters.

 

Economic Development

Alameda Point is one of our biggest assets and greatest opportunities. We need to re-think and re-imagine our plan for economic development at the point to meet emerging needs in a comprehensive and thoughtful way. By doing this we can boost the local economy through attraction of new businesses and industries, like biotech and clean technology, streamline permitting, align zoning and incentives, and strengthen collaboration of local business network.