We asked each candidate to answer a few questions so that you can know a little more about their priorities. See responses from other candidates: Emily Francis, James Papp and Michelle Shoresman
Rank the issues in order of importance for our city:
If elected, what will you do to address the issue you identified above as most significant?
Prioritize securing the county, state, and federal dollars necessary to complete the Prado Road overpass and improve the Broad Street corridor.
Push forward policy that ensures everyone has the ability to access modern broadband and increase competition among providers so that consumers will enjoy lower prices and a higher quality of service.
Support realignment of public transportation service offerings to better serve the needs of our City (eg. evening service, microtransit offerings, express routes, etc.).
Advocate for water usage efficiency, storm-water reclamation, and a potable recycling program that includes reuse of excess into a basin rather than discharge into the ocean.
What is your approach on traffic and parking issues? Are there any policies that you are committed to advocating for or against?
My approach is to prioritize infrastructure investments so that people can safely and easily move around our City in various modes of transport (e.g. walk, bike, public transit, car). I’m committed to policies which increase our housing inventory downtown and near existing infrastructure in order to mitigate congestion and parking issues. I’m also committed to advocating for an approach to parking rates that properly accounts for the needs of our business community, workforce, and residents.
Which theme in the Chamber’s economic vision, Imagine SLO, do you think deserves the most focus in the next four years and why?
Love of Place. I love SLO and I want to preserve everything that is special while leaning into the future and doing the things that must be done to ensure our City will succeed in the years ahead. My priorities include (a) the success of our local economy by focusing on public safety, accessibility, and mitigating the impacts of homelessness; (b) much needed infrastructure improvements; (c) housing inventory aligned with community needs; (d) diversity, equity, and inclusion investments to ensure everyone in our City is actively supported and welcomed; and (e) conservation and open space acquisition.
For more than ten years, buildings in the downtown core have been allowed to be up to 75 feet tall if they provide significant community benefits; do you support these current regulations? Why or why not?
Yes. The tradeoff between significant community benefit and impacting viewsheds is the right balance given the general community sentiment, including my own, that we will not break our urban reserve line and we will not allow urban sprawl. As such, going up is the only practical solution to the likely increase in population that we will see in the decades ahead and ensuring significant community benefit is the correct scrutiny for such an impactful decision.
For the first time in decades, the City is approaching our self-imposed 1% limit on new housing development. Would you support amending this 1% cap to address our housing crisis or do you believe that it is essential to maintain this limit?
The General Plan stipulates the 1% growth rate and, to be clear, this limit excludes low income housing and downtown. We absolutely need better alignment of our housing inventory with community needs but that must be done methodically, allowing for input from all stakeholders and accounting for all factors involved. As stated in the Land Use Element “Growth must be consistent with the City’s ability to provide resources and services and with State and City requirements for protecting the environment, the economy, and open space.” For reference, the pre-pandemic 5 year average annual growth rate was 0.47%.
What are you most proud of having contributed to our community in the past 10 years?
Creating an endowment fund which provides education scholarships to persons of color in SLO County who want to work in the legal profession. I created this fund after learning that the legal profession in California has a significant racial imbalance, similar to the imbalance we have in SLO. I’m grateful to those in our community who donated to the fund and I’m so proud of the scholarship recipients. In addition to the monetary award, recipients are assisted in securing internships, summer employment, and mentors to help further their career aspirations.
What is the biggest opportunity for our City in the next four years?
To elect council members who are highly qualified, willing to challenge each other, and are able to thrive in an environment that is rooted in respect and civility but has the necessary creative tension to cause high quality decision making.
Is there something the city is not currently focused on that you would bring to the forefront if elected?
Creating and maintaining an overarching culture of transparency by default, excellent customer service, and continuous improvement in how services are provided in order to eliminate waste and reduce costs. City staff are great but every organization has opportunities to improve.