REDWOOD CITY — Six candidates are vying for three open district seats on the Redwood City Council, including a woman who is running unopposed.
Retired Kaiser Permanente communications consultant Margaret Becker, nonprofit events coordinator Chris Struken, housing attorney Alison Madden, nonprofit executive Kaia Eakin, minister and businessman Jerome Madigan and current council member Diane Howard are all running for seats in three district elections on Nov. 8.
It’s the second time Redwood City voters have cast their ballot in district elections after switching from at-large council seats in 2019 when the city was threatened with a lawsuit under the California Voting Rights Act, which allows minorities to sue a city if they can prove an at-large election system “dilutes” their votes and makes it difficult for them to elect candidates.
In District 6, Madigan is going head-to-head against council member and former Mayor Diane Howard, who has been a fixture of Redwood City politics for decades.
Madigan, who is a minister at First Baptist Church of San Carlos, has lived in Redwood City with his wife and three kids for 20 years and is running to change the makeup of the council and bring in new voices.
Madigan said in his candidate statement that he is joining the race because he’s “concerned about our future and wants to fight to ensure the best quality of life for all of our residents.” He is running in support of law enforcement, first responders, prioritizing affordable housing, creating a new homebuyer program and tackling traffic.
Howard has been on the city council since 2013, but has had previous stints on the council going back to 1994. Howard was first elected to the council from 1994-2009 and served as vice mayor three times, and twice as mayor. She is running again to “preserve neighborhoods, improve quality of life, continue smart growth, ensure economic stability” and secure funding for around infrastructure and city services.
In her candidate statement, Howard touts her accomplishments while on the council during coronavirus, such as new housing downtown near transit, funding for homeless services and opening a temporary RV Safe Parking program.
In District 5, Eakin is running unopposed and has previous city experience having served on the Redwood City Historic Resources Advisory Committee. In her candidate statement, Eakin says she has lived in the city for 20 years and is prioritizing housing for all levels of affordability and to “improve our transportation infrastructure to support a diverse workforce” while also mitigating the impacts of climate change on the city.
In District 2, Becker, Sturken and Madden are running for the open council seat. Becker is chair of the Redwood City Housing and Human Concerns Committee and has lived in the city for 20 years. She said in her time on the committee she “initiate projects to help alleviate homelessness, increase dialogue between property owners and renters, and prevent displacement of residents. She wants to prioritize “balanced growth” to “maintain the city’s beauty and history” and preserve and increase affordable housing.
Sturken is an affordable housing advocate who grew up in Belmont, where he saw “how the housing crisis and the high cost of living has impacted our community.” He has lived in the city for four years and has served on the Redwood City Transportation Advisory Committee, where he advocated expanding the city’s bike network, and is currently a member on the Redwood City Planning Commission. As a gay person, transit ride, bicyclist and renter, Sturken’s priorities are “affordable housing, safe and reliable public transportation and bikeways and more equitable and inclusive city services.”
Madden is a housing attorney and businesswoman who opened her own law practice to focus on housing law and advocacy, including tenant protections, relocation and advocacy to “build at every income level.” She wants to focus on building enough low-income homes to “avoid homelessness displacement and being under-housed.” She also wants to focus on building “green zones” across the city and “afforestation, or in climate talk, green where there never was any.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com