Upfront
East Palo Alto (continued from page 5)
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programs. East Palo Alto was one of the first cities in San Mateo County to have converted all street lights to light-emitting diodes (LED) last year to increase visibility at night under her tenure, she said. Affordable housing: As mayor and council member, she supported rent stabilization and a condominium conversion ordinance to protect apartment dwellers. In January 2013, the city is expected to pass a tenant-protection ordinance, which she supports. Favors seeking affordable-housing funding and a program for first-time home buyers. Economic development: Directed the creation of the Community Development Department to seek ways to fund Ravenswood Business District. Laura Martinez Supports a youth economic-development plan. Under Martinez, in July the city council adopted a citywide economic plan. What’s one vote you are proud of casting on the council? “Early on as a council member in 2008 when Mi Pueblo wanted to establish a local grocery store, there was a lot of pressure from the community. It was a tough vote. Three council members voted ‘yes,’ and two voted ‘no.’ I am proud that I voted ‘yes.’ Now we have a full-service store that offers fresh fruits and vegetables, which we hadn’t had in more than 30 years,” she said.
Larry J. Moody
Saturday, November 3rd from 10am - 3pm 1805 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (650) 324-3937 www.luxpaloalto.com Page 8ÊUÊ Ûi LiÀÊÓ]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V
Occupation: Board chairman of the nonprofit Making It Happen for Our Children Prior public positions: Ravenswood City School District board member, 2006-10; East Palo Alto Sanitary District board member 2003-06; San Mateo County Housing and Community Development Commission, 2010-12; Sequoia High School Bond Measure Commission Cr i me reduction:”I would put more police on the streets. We are constantly working on fumes for a long period of time,” he said. He would seek Larry Moody $5 million to raise police force to levels suggested in a 2008 grand jury report. He would seek technical-jobs training for youth and parolees. Affordable housing: He is concerned about the wholesale purchase of 1,800 apartments by Equity Partners. The city needs to educate
residents about the importance of having affordable starter housing for future generations. He wants to institute jobs training so that residents can make better income to afford housing. Economic development: Commercial development should be “the right match for the present workforce and the future workforce.” Supports an economic summit with the city’s 500 small businesses. Wants to train a residential workforce for future job trends. Considers Ravenswood Business District is the city’s last opportunity to develop revenue to pave streets, replace pipes and develop open space but said the city must be “intentional in who we partner with.” He would also consider traffic problems that could be caused by development. What’s one vote you would have changed if you had been on the council? “The way we handled the redevelopment issue when the state said it would abolish redevelopment. We erred when we pushed a lot of talented people away (after laying off staff), then we turned around and hired three or four other people,” he said.
Jorge Prado Occupation: Certificated analyst for human resources at the Ravenswood City School District Prior public positions: East Palo Alto Planning Commission, 200612; board member, Drew Medical Foundation; Rent Stabilization Board; president of the Comite Latino for East Palo Alto, in charge of the city’s Cinco de Mayo celebrations Cr i me reduction: Increase Jorge Prado police force. Collaborate with San Mateo County to investigate crimes. “Several crimes have not been investigated and we have to avoid letting someone get away with committing crimes,” he said. Improve the communications capacity for the police department, which has sometimes been spotty. Affordable housing: Prado supports rent stabilization. He would investigate and stop abuse by landlords who indiscriminately raise rents. Economic development: Prado wants to attract businesses to the community but also businesses that serve the community. He supports giving the people a voice on any major development project. What’s one vote you would have changed if you had been on the council? He does not support the University Palms development.
Donna Rutherford Occupation: Program administrator for a nonprofit Prior public positions: East Palo Alto City Council, 2000-08; former mayor; Ravenswood City School District Board of Education member for 12 years
Crime reduction: Would hire more police to patrol the streets. Affordable housing: The majority of individuals in the city are renters. The foreclosure crisis pushed more residents into rentals, which has caused rent i ncreases, she said. Supports more housing for low-income and middlei n c o m e residents. Supports developing a plan for the Donna Rutherford homeless p opu lat ion and their rehabilitation. Economic development: Would aggressively seek money to complete the Ravenswood Business District project. She would seek someone who is skilled in writing grant proposals and to speak on the city’s behalf to funders. She also would continue to leverage relationships with legislators and would seek their leadership. What’s one vote you would have changed if you had been on the council? “I would not have voted to support (losing) the city manager. He did a good job. I would not have voted to let him go,” she said.
Lisa Yarbrough-Gauthier Occupation: Executive assistant for a Foster City venture-capital firm Prior public positions: None. Helped organize a recent peace march against crime in the city Crime reduction: Would organize town hall meetings to talk about issues and how to solve crime problems. Affordable housing: Supports ord ina nces protecting low-income housing. The city must have employees who understa nd corporate culture to better deal with large real estate Lisa Yarbroughfirms buying Gauthier up housing stock, she said. Economic development: “Public safety has to play a key part in economic development,” she said. Supports retaining mom-and-pop retail businesses and would work to attract customers to local stores, such as a Shop East Palo Alto campaign. What’s one vote you would have changed if you had been on the council? No answer. “It’s easy to second-guess it afterwards,” she said. Additional candidate information is available on the League of Women Voters SmartVoter website at www.smartvoter.org or http://tinyurl.com/c6dplgg. N Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at sdremann@paweekly.com.