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Meet the three candidates vying to represent Menlo Park City Council District 3 By Kate Bradshaw Almanac Staff Writer
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hree candidates are running to be the first District 3 City Council representatives in their historically underrepresented area of Menlo Park: Chelsea Nguyen, Max Fennell and Jen Wolosin. Each of the three candidates brings unique experiences and perspectives to the table, and presented compelling ideas for how to solve some of the biggest problems being discussed in the community: housing and its affordability, climate change, police reform and more. But only one will join the (virtual) dais after Election Day. Forums with District 3 candidates were scheduled on Wednesday, Sept. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 3. Go to is.gd/2020forums for more information about upcoming candidate events.
VOTER + GUIDE + 20 +2 0 Chelsea Nguyen
Of the three candidates running for office, Chelsea Nguyen has lived in the area for the longest time. She immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam as a refugee, and her family was sponsored by the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church. She grew up in the community and has lived here on and off for the bulk of the past 40 years, she said. She has three children — two sons who are involved in the military and a special needs daughter. Her top three priority areas to address, if elected, are affordable housing, transportation and the environment, she said in an interview. See DISTRICT 3, page 21
Sammy Dallal
All San Mateo County voters will be sent ballots starting next week, with in-person voting on Election Day, Nov. 3. To register to vote, go to smcacre.org/voter-registration.
With housing and wildfires at the forefront of their minds, four candidates compete for Portola Valley Town Council seats By Julia Brown Almanac Assistant Editor
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or the first time in seven years there is a contested Town Council election in Portola Valley, with four people vying for two seats: technologist Angela Hey, retired family physician Mary Hufty, community volunteer Sarah Wernikoff, and sustainability professional Jeff Aalfs, who is the current mayor. While many of the chief concerns in town back in 2013 — such as retaining Portola Valley’s rural character and preventing wildfires — are still top of mind for this crop of candidates, other issues have been magnified in recent months. The COVID-19
VOTER + GUIDE + 20 +2 0 pandemic has decimated small businesses nationwide, with Portola Valley businesses also hampered by its economic effects. The housing shortage is a full-blown crisis, with state mandates that could require Portola Valley to build 200 to 300 new housing units in the next decade. And the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man killed by Minneapolis police in May, has prompted the council and residents to examine racial equity
issues and whether any reform is needed in the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the town’s status as a predominantly white, wealthy enclave. The Almanac conducted videoconference interviews with the four candidates last month, asking them about all these issues and more. Angela Hey
A 29-year resident who served on the town’s first Sustainability Committee and has sat on its Bicycle, Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee since 2013, Angela Hey now seeks to take her knowledge and experience to the council. She’s running on “risks,
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residences and relationships,” with a desire to address the need for affordable housing, mitigate risks such as wildfires and cultivate relationships among people in town. She believes the budget is the top issue facing Portola Valley currently (the Town Council is slated to approve the new 202021 fiscal year budget Oct. 14 after implementing an interim budget for the start of the fiscal year based on 2019-20 figures.) Fire risks and “the risk that people are worried, and health risks” round out her list of the top issues residents are confronting. “People are stressed and worried, and by mitigating risks you reduce worry in people,” Hey said.
To aid local small business owners hit hard by the pandemic, Hey says the council could ask residents to help them or seek grants, but she’s unsure if the town should dedicate any of its own funding toward that endeavor. “There have to be ways — maybe subsidizing peoples’ rents for awhile or working with landlords — but I don’t know that that’s the job of the Town Council,” she said. “The council has to set up the atmosphere where these people can get together and have a discussion.” Asked about where new housing could go and what types should be included, Hey said See PORTOLA COUNCIL, page 18
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