Nine candidates are competing for four spots on the Palo Alto City Council: Patrick Burt, Katie Causey, Anne Cribbs, Henry Etzkowitz, George Lu, Keith Reckdahl, Greer Stone, Doria Summa and Cari Templeton.
The Midpen Post spoke with candidates about their experience and policy positions, focusing on housing, environmental sustainability, city services and community inclusivity.
Candidates are ordered in alphabetical order of last name.
Former Palo Alto mayor and former CEO Patrick Burt is running as an incumbent to ensure that the elected officials continue to make key decisions for the city rather than city staff, according to his website.
Burt is in favor of implementing new, affordable housing units and strong renter protections throughout Palo Alto and has done significant work to fund Measure K — which is a campaign allocating a $3 million budget per year for affordable housing — he said.
His key goals center around streamlining permitting processes to increase the rate of return on investments. He also hopes to strengthen partnerships with regional agencies and increase state collaboration to achieve Palo Alto’s goals, he said. Through his time serving on the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, Caltrain boards and Chair of the Valley Transportation Authority, Burt has taken significant strides to represent Palo Alto regionally on affordable housing, transportation and environmental issues, he said.
In his twelve years as a councilmember, Burt has made significant progress toward carbon-neutral electricity, backed policies to reduce the area’s susceptibility to wildfires and led upgrades to cultivate a more reliable local infrastructure grid, according to his website. As a self-proclaimed environmental leader, Burt has achieved 100% carbon neutrality at half of the cost of PG&E, he said. Burt aims to continue to electrify transportation and buildings.
Burt mentioned that his central priority in Palo Alto’s infrastructure is improving bike routes and bike safety.
“We can — and really need to — achieve this,” Burt said in a recent Rotary Club forum. “It ties into our climate plans, it ties into public safety and it ties to how we’re moving about in our community.”
Katie Causey is the current Palo Alto City Human Relations commissioner and a lifelong Palo Alto resident who is running to ensure the city is a liveable and accessible city for the future, she said in an email response.
With a focus on working with marginalized communities in local government and time spent on the Human Relations Commission, Causey has experience handling Palo Alto’s most sensitive issues like policing and racial justice, she said.
“I am running for council after working in our local housing nonprofits working hands on with seniors and families when they are close to having nowhere to live,” Causey said.
A primary component of her campaign is ensuring safe and accessible transportation in Palo Alto, Causey said. She aims to strengthen Palo Alto’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Plan to provide protected infrastructure around high collision areas, she said
“Whether you’re walking, biking, using a wheelchair, or pushing a stroller, it should be safe and easy to get around your neighborhood,” Causey said.
Two things Causey seeks to implement in Palo Alto are improving city culture and holding Palo Alto’s first LGBTQ+ Pride celebration to promote a community where all members feel safe, seen and celebrated, Causey said.
“It’s more important than ever that we invest in spaces for community members to come together and opportunities to strengthen cultural bonds,” Causey said.
In order to cultivate a community where all people feel welcome, investing in Palo Alto’s housing nonprofits and beginning to work with nonprofits that focus on serving renters are important strides, Causey said. She seeks to streamline review of housing projects by limiting the number of public hearings and setting firm deadlines for approval or denial of new housing projects, she said.
“I’m running [for city council] because I’ve spent late nights looking for social workers for seniors days away from losing their home,” Causey said. “I’ve seen how hard Palo Alto neighbors will fight to keep our community together.”
Anne Cribbs is in her third term as a Palo Alto Park and Recreation Commissioner and has been a Palo Alto resident since 1967. As a member of the commission, Cribbs has opened Foothill Nature Preserve, a dog park at Peers Park, and organized restrooms for all Palo Alto Parks.
Her policy goals focus on accessible housing and climate change to“get things done” in the city. A main factor that drove her to her decision to run for city council was her desire to streamline the decision-making and action plan process in Palo Alto.
To prevent the city’s delays, Cribbs plans to create timelines and increase penalty fines caused by delays for all projects to avoid postponing deadlines, she said. Additionally, Cribbs hopes to use surrounding cities as a learning tool by using their permit process policy as an example.
For Cribbs, improving housing in Palo Alto means removing barriers and subsidizing low income housing through grants, tax incentives, and other programs.
Cribbs’ experience as a backstroke athlete in the 1960 Olympics prompted her to found the Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee (BASOC) and the American Basketball League (ABL). Both organizations are committed to accessibility, with BASOC focusing on bringing events to the Bay and ABL providing opportunities for female athletes to play in professional American leagues.
Cribbs also hopes to implement well-trained coaches and sports programs that are accessible for all families, regardless of their economic status. She believes in building more sports facilities that are accessible across the socio-economic spectrum; specifically, a pool in South Palo Alto.
“[Speeding things up will] reduce frustration from the community or the feeling that ‘my voice won’t matter, or no one listens to me,’” Cribbs said.
Henry Etzkowitz is a senior research fellow at Stanford University, a sociologist and the co-organizer of the Community of Oak Creek Residents, a coalition of apartment owners and renters. Etzkowitz is running as a strong proponent for affordable housing and preserving sociability between all age groups in the Palo Alto, he said.
In his role as co-organizer at Oak Creek Residents, Etzkowitz helped counter Stanford’s increased rent proposal for his apartment neighbors after Stanford acquired the Oak Creek Apartments.
Etzkowitz believes that ecological housing and expanding Palo Alto’s tree canopy are necessary developments that Palo Alto must make to improve the city’s livability, he said. The Stanford Research Park is an area that would benefit from this change, Etzkowitz said
“The point of [Stanford] Research Park is to bring people and companies near the university,” Etzkowitz said.
Etzkowitz is in favor of drawing inspiration from other areas to modernize Palo Alto, including putting the railroad underground, citing New York City’s subway system as an example, he said. Etzkowitz believes that Palo Alto has to get together with neighboring cities to lobby funds in order to make this shift.
To make progress in improving Palo Alto’s social scene, Etzkowitz advocates for transforming empty stores into community areas.
“Palo Alto needs places to hang out and have fun for seniors, young people and everyone,” Etzkowitz said. “We need to work with the university [Stanford], the city and the business community and rezone vacant places.”
George Lu was elected to the Planning and Transportation Commission in 2023, and has dedicated his term to issues like housing elements, improving El Camino bike lanes, and retail streamlining, he said. Lu grew up as a native to the Bay Area: he attended a Chinese school in Palo Alto, studied Economics at Stanford University, and worked at a local startup. Lu has worked on civic issues in multiple initiatives, from affordable access to electric scooters to a state-funded food aid program to seniors during the pandemic.
Lu believes housing should be affordable for teachers, first responders, young families, and seniors in Palo Alto, he said. To do so, he hopes to build housing for all income levels, incorporate responsive neighborhood planning, and implement tenant protection, he said.
Additionally, Lu is committed to a Vision Zero goal to prevent traffic-related fatalities and prioritize safety over aesthetic or funding issues, he said.
A large part of Lu’s decision to join the Planning Commission and run for Palo Alto City Council is to improve retail in the community. Lu supports ground floor and mixed-use retail development to combat the rigid retail ordinances in the city and reduce the number of empty retail lots.
To support local small businesses, Lu hopes to take after cities like Santa Monica and San Francisco, who have streamlined many of their business and retail processes. Additionally, Lu emphasizes the need for streetscapes with wide, clean sidewalks, public art, and nature. He would like to invest in public outdoor spaces and preserving existing open spaces, particularly in South Palo Alto. Similarly, he advocates for community spaces like Cubberly and is against utilizing the plot for housing.
Keith Reckdahl is a current vice chair of the Palo Alto City Planning and Transportation Commission and a 12-year member of city commissions. Reckdahl has spent nine years serving on Palo Alto’s Parks and Recreations Committee, where he made significant contributions like reducing usage of water, limiting the usage of harmful chemicals and promoting outreach between groups within Palo Alto.
Reckdahl is running for Palo Alto City Council to advocate for a retail protection ordinance and to promote affordable housing, aiming to mitigate the imbalance of jobs and available housing, he said.
“If you look at the number of jobs that people have in Palo Alto, it’s three times as many people work in Palo Alto than can live in Palo Alto,” Reckdahl said. “Two-thirds of the workers are driving on [U.S. Route] 101 or [Interstate] 280 every day, which doesn’t scale well, especially considering the surrounding towns have similar ratios.”
One of Reckdahl’s top goals for Palo Alto is creating dense housing located closer to retail areas and transit. In 2022, he led the Measure K campaign, funding affordable housing and Palo Alto’s emergency services as well as restoring public safety services.
Now, the Stanford Shopping Center and Stanford Research Park are two prime areas to develop dense housing, Reckdahl said. Reckdahl also emphasizes the importance of maintaining a high quality of life in Palo Alto for all residents.
“After seeing the complexity of trying to get housing but also having livable housing, I really wanted to be part of that,” Reckdahl said. “That’s the biggest reason why I’m running: to make sure that we have livable housing for these new residents.”
Reckdahl seeks to address vacancies in retail spaces in downtown Palo Alto by implementing dense retail clusters and promoting foot traffic, he said.
Current mayor Greer Stone is running as an incumbent after serving four years on the Palo Alto City Council. As mayor, Stone addressed youth wellbeing by establishing the Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing Taskforce, a coalition formed of Stanford mental health experts, Palo Alto Unified School District staff members, city staff, nonprofit partners and students.
Stone has led Palo Alto to invest in the city’s electrical grid and pilot new programs like the heat pump water heater rebates, which save energy and resident spending on clean forms of heat, he said. Stone is endorsed by the Sierra Club, a grassroots environmental organization.
During Stone’s time on the council, Palo Alto’s housing element was adopted in response to the state’s mandate to build 6,800 housing units over the next eight years. As a member of the city’s Housing Ad Hoc Committee, Stone recognizes the importance of a proper allocation of affordable housing across the city.
Stone supports the inclusion of supporting local nonprofit organizations that provide key services to community groups that need the extra aid, he said.
Doria Summa is currently in her second term as member of the Planning and Transportation Commission and served as the chair in January 2023 for a year and a half. Yet in total, Summa has served the City of Palo Alto for 17 years on boards and commissions ranging from the California Avenue Tree Replanting and Streetscape Project to the 2030 Comprehensive Plan Citizens Advisory Committee.
To address affordable housing, Summa plans to preserve existing housing options, propose a variety of housing unit sizes, and electrify homes and businesses through publicly purchasable green electricity. However, she realizes that electric conversion will require extensive time and money and aims to include community members of diverse socioeconomic statuses. She is also on the board of La Comida, a non-profit that provides reduced-price or free lunches to seniors, which has “opened [her] eyes about the community in North Palo Alto.”
Summa’s career in community politics started with the production of an independent film about 9/11, where she learned about the diverse characters and issues outside of her neighborhood.
“Too often, things that are imposed on neighborhoods or imposed as a solution weren’t the preferred solution for the real people with skin in the game,” Summa said.
Summa hopes to provide proper supplies and adequate staffing across departments, particularly in fire safety and the Development Center, to ease the process of obtaining permits.
Summa believes the “right next step” is to serve in the City Council, a decision making body rather than a recommending body.
Cari Templeton was elected to the Planning and Transportation Commission in 2018, acted as the chair to the commission in 2020 and represented the commission in the Expanded Community Advisory Panel (XCAP) from 2019 to 2021, a group dedicated to finding safer alternatives to railroad crossings. Additionally, as a member of the oversight committee, she’s worked towards clean water and natural flood protection for Valley Measure S. As a member of the housing element ad hoc committee, she worked to build 6000 new homes with the state, she said.
“We want to, as a city, figure out how to make spaces available and attractive to do business in our city, so that everybody who’s living here and might live here in the future can enjoy being part of the community,” said Templeton.
Templeton hopes to address affordable housing by planning for a potential influx of Palo Alto residents. She also wants to balance building new housing and preserving open,green space.
In working for the city and the current city commissioners, four of whom are running as candidates, Templeton has gained a better understanding of city processes and what it’s like to work on the panel, she said.
Templeton’s involvement in local politics started after she was in a vehicle collision and reached out to the community to inquire about making intersections safer. She hopes to generate more detailed traffic data by including incidents that might not result in fatalities or severe injuries. By reexamining bike infrastructure and utilizing public grants, she wants to prioritize bike lanes and sidewalks over spending on increased parking space, she said.
As the only candidate with school-aged children, Templeton believes she brings policy more catered towards students. While walking her son to school, a crossroad guard wasn’t able to check on an injured student due to a law that prohibits crossing guards from leaving their side of the street. Particularly, Templeton’s “Coffee with Cari” program offers the community an opportunity to reach out to public service members, increasing transparency and availability.
