Fiscal Responsibility and Equitable Allocation of Resources
Transparency
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Decent and Affordable Housing
Living Wage Jobs
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Responsible Development
Freedom from Oppression and Bigotry
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Is there a topic on your mind not listed here?
Fiscal Responsibility and Equitable Allocation of Resources
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Concord’s budget allocations are outdated. The budget needs to be reworked to eliminate irresponsible spending, including auditing the large amount of general funds given to the police department. Many services currently handled by police officers could be more effectively handled by social services with better possibility for solutions instead of cycling through the criminal system. Over time, solutions lead to less need to spend money in certain areas, and, therefore, more money to put toward finding solutions for different problems, and, eventually, more discretionary spending money. Our current budget system is like sending money off into a black hole from which no gains are returned. I would gather data on current outcomes to determine a way to invest equitably in all departments and service-based organizations that will improve the quality of life for all communities.
Concord is going to have to face the fact that it will have to make do for some time with revenue it has, and maybe less. The current health emergency situation guarantees it will be difficult for some time to find new revenue sources.
Another part of this is fiscal transparency. The current City Council does not have a good track record of upholding fiscal transparency. At different times, they will change their stance on the significance of certain amounts of money to serve their end goals. When hearing spending plans, thousands of dollars can be left out of staff reports when it is allocated for something that might be controversial to the community. When we look at the City budget, we don’t always see what specifically each account is paying for. The public does not have a way to assess if the way money is spent is right and in alignment with their values. I would work to change that.
Concord is going to have to face the fact that it will have to make do for some time with revenue it has, and maybe less. The current health emergency situation guarantees it will be difficult for some time to find new revenue sources.
Another part of this is fiscal transparency. The current City Council does not have a good track record of upholding fiscal transparency. At different times, they will change their stance on the significance of certain amounts of money to serve their end goals. When hearing spending plans, thousands of dollars can be left out of staff reports when it is allocated for something that might be controversial to the community. When we look at the City budget, we don’t always see what specifically each account is paying for. The public does not have a way to assess if the way money is spent is right and in alignment with their values. I would work to change that.
Decent and Affordable Housing
The current City Council has consistently prioritized developers, homeowners, and landlords over renters and unhoused citizens in Concord. The pandemic is going to worsen accessibility to secure housing, displacing individuals from their communities and children from their schools.
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It’s going to displace Concord’s workforce and the traditional jobs needed for the economic development of Concord. Housing is a complex issue to resolve, so we need to seize every opportunity that comes up to provide housing security as we seek to improve housing availability. No one person alone knows the solution. I would bring together local business leaders, community organizers, affordable housing developers, and experts in racial equity to develop revitalization efforts and ways to fund those efforts, such as public banks.
Affordable Housing
Development has to include housing that is affordable to working-class residents of Concord. If we continue to prioritize affluent citizens in Concord, working-class communities will continue to be pushed out of Concord. Instead, we can provide housing that is affordable to a broad array of incomes, and Concord residents will be able to spend a more reasonable percentage of their incomes on housing leading to more money remaining to spend in the local economy. Affordable housing is a necessity for students. Additionally, providing affordable housing and transitional housing opens the door for unsheltered persons in Concord to get back into stable housing. Stable housing is proven to increase citizens' abilities to acquire jobs and improve their mental health. It is the responsibility of the City Council to guarantee the safety of all their constituents by ensuring everyone has a pathway to stable housing.
I would pursue contracts with developers that require affordable units be built simultaneously with any market rate units. Too often developers build the market rate units and then stop when the economy doesn’t support those types of units. Trickle down building doesn’t work. Developers do not build to supply and demand. History shows they build what is extremely profitable and then stop - they do not then just start building affordable units because the demand is there. They wait until the market for luxury units returns. As a result, Concord has been plagued with empty lots and unbuilt affordable units.
Low to middle income housing must be distributed throughout all communities. We cannot have environmental justice if all low income housing is located only in high density areas near loud public transit trains. People of all incomes should be able to choose a place to live that fits the needs of their lifestyle and commute.
Tenants Rights
Rent Control
Rent control provides stability for renters and reduces affordable housing losses over time. The current City Council talks about the impact of rent control on landlords and ignores the impact of skyrocketing housing costs on renters. Councilmembers opine that rent control is just offering subsidies to renters, without calling attention to the fact that tax breaks on mortgages are also subsidies given to property owners. Nine other Bay Area cities have already instated rent control policies, it's time for Concord to do the same.
Just Cause Evictions
Landlords must be required to provide fair justifications for evictions and provide reallocation payments for certain no-fault evictions like building sales and demolitions. Without Just Cause protections, tenants live in constant fear of retaliation through eviction; they are discouraged from reporting uninhabitable living conditions and needs for repairs, drastically reducing quality of life for renters. We need to protect tenants from the anxiety and insecurity of no-cause evictions.
Binding Arbitration
The current Rent Mediation Board only provides non-binding arbitration. This means that, even if a renter successfully advocates for themselves and wins arbitration against uninhabitable living conditions or unjust evictions, there is no requirement for the landlord to comply. This discourages tenants from even taking the risk to report problems. Access to safe and health living conditions must be equitably accessible to all Concord residents.
Right to Counsel
When tenants face unjust evictions or issues with their rights as renters, they disproportionately are without legal representation compared to landlords. In the face of extreme housing insecurity, it is the responsibility of the City to guarantee all tenants are aware of their rights and have equitable access to legal representation.
Equitable Access to Shelters
Concord currently does not provide enough resources to shelters to make sure all unhoused residents can access shelters in the area. Frequently, citizens are left waiting for rides to the shelter with no confirmation if the ride is actually coming. When this happens, citizens must walk, often through dangerous intersections, to the shelters. The safety of our unhoused neighbors is just as important as the safety of others. Further, we must demand the county and state legislate that all cities must help fund these services.
Development has to include housing that is affordable to working-class residents of Concord. If we continue to prioritize affluent citizens in Concord, working-class communities will continue to be pushed out of Concord. Instead, we can provide housing that is affordable to a broad array of incomes, and Concord residents will be able to spend a more reasonable percentage of their incomes on housing leading to more money remaining to spend in the local economy. Affordable housing is a necessity for students. Additionally, providing affordable housing and transitional housing opens the door for unsheltered persons in Concord to get back into stable housing. Stable housing is proven to increase citizens' abilities to acquire jobs and improve their mental health. It is the responsibility of the City Council to guarantee the safety of all their constituents by ensuring everyone has a pathway to stable housing.
I would pursue contracts with developers that require affordable units be built simultaneously with any market rate units. Too often developers build the market rate units and then stop when the economy doesn’t support those types of units. Trickle down building doesn’t work. Developers do not build to supply and demand. History shows they build what is extremely profitable and then stop - they do not then just start building affordable units because the demand is there. They wait until the market for luxury units returns. As a result, Concord has been plagued with empty lots and unbuilt affordable units.
Low to middle income housing must be distributed throughout all communities. We cannot have environmental justice if all low income housing is located only in high density areas near loud public transit trains. People of all incomes should be able to choose a place to live that fits the needs of their lifestyle and commute.
Tenants Rights
Rent Control
Rent control provides stability for renters and reduces affordable housing losses over time. The current City Council talks about the impact of rent control on landlords and ignores the impact of skyrocketing housing costs on renters. Councilmembers opine that rent control is just offering subsidies to renters, without calling attention to the fact that tax breaks on mortgages are also subsidies given to property owners. Nine other Bay Area cities have already instated rent control policies, it's time for Concord to do the same.
Just Cause Evictions
Landlords must be required to provide fair justifications for evictions and provide reallocation payments for certain no-fault evictions like building sales and demolitions. Without Just Cause protections, tenants live in constant fear of retaliation through eviction; they are discouraged from reporting uninhabitable living conditions and needs for repairs, drastically reducing quality of life for renters. We need to protect tenants from the anxiety and insecurity of no-cause evictions.
Binding Arbitration
The current Rent Mediation Board only provides non-binding arbitration. This means that, even if a renter successfully advocates for themselves and wins arbitration against uninhabitable living conditions or unjust evictions, there is no requirement for the landlord to comply. This discourages tenants from even taking the risk to report problems. Access to safe and health living conditions must be equitably accessible to all Concord residents.
Right to Counsel
When tenants face unjust evictions or issues with their rights as renters, they disproportionately are without legal representation compared to landlords. In the face of extreme housing insecurity, it is the responsibility of the City to guarantee all tenants are aware of their rights and have equitable access to legal representation.
Equitable Access to Shelters
Concord currently does not provide enough resources to shelters to make sure all unhoused residents can access shelters in the area. Frequently, citizens are left waiting for rides to the shelter with no confirmation if the ride is actually coming. When this happens, citizens must walk, often through dangerous intersections, to the shelters. The safety of our unhoused neighbors is just as important as the safety of others. Further, we must demand the county and state legislate that all cities must help fund these services.
Responsible Development
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I will pursue responsible development at the Naval Weapons Station, using Concord’s second chance to ethically select a trustworthy developer that works with unions. I will attain environmental justice by pushing Council to ensure the Navy cleans up toxic substances and requires fair distribution of benefits and burdens including equitable green space. I will push to preserve the character of downtown by investing in its historical buildings and restoring ignored indigenous landmarks and culture.
Concord cannot afford to repeat the mistakes made by partnering with Lennar at the Concord Naval Weapons Station. From the beginning, I advised Council of Lennar’s poor track record, pointing to the extensive trouble nearby cities found themselves in when partnering with Lennar. Lennar’s negotiating agreement was not extended because they could not reach an agreement on a Project Labor Agreement with labor unions. Concord is $13M in debt because they knowingly chose to enter into an agreement with Lennar.
I am the only candidate who fought tirelessly for the rights of the residents of District 2. The current councilmember remained silent during the years before she was elected, and most recently established an ad hoc committee in an effort to keep Lennar as the master developer.. She did not care that Lennar refused to work with District 2. Council went out of their way to remove the green space allotted for every other neighborhood that abuts the base except District 2. Currently, there is not even a plan to allocate money for roads just outside the base in District 2 to mitigate traffic.
I do not support a soccer stadium downtown. It is an inappropriate use of land in that area.
Concord cannot afford to repeat the mistakes made by partnering with Lennar at the Concord Naval Weapons Station. From the beginning, I advised Council of Lennar’s poor track record, pointing to the extensive trouble nearby cities found themselves in when partnering with Lennar. Lennar’s negotiating agreement was not extended because they could not reach an agreement on a Project Labor Agreement with labor unions. Concord is $13M in debt because they knowingly chose to enter into an agreement with Lennar.
I am the only candidate who fought tirelessly for the rights of the residents of District 2. The current councilmember remained silent during the years before she was elected, and most recently established an ad hoc committee in an effort to keep Lennar as the master developer.. She did not care that Lennar refused to work with District 2. Council went out of their way to remove the green space allotted for every other neighborhood that abuts the base except District 2. Currently, there is not even a plan to allocate money for roads just outside the base in District 2 to mitigate traffic.
I do not support a soccer stadium downtown. It is an inappropriate use of land in that area.
Transparency
We hear the current Councilmembers frequently complain about their inability to talk to each other outside of Council meetings, and blame process issues on the Brown Act. They view transparency as a barrier to getting their jobs done. In reality, transparency is a tool of the public to hold their representatives accountable.
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Citizens of Concord need transparency in all City Council processes. When the Council has ad-hoc meetings like they did with the trade unions and Lennar during the planning for the Naval Weapons Stations, the public can't see the discussions. It's not clear if they had a full discussion, if they left questions unasked because they didn't know to ask them, or if they left questions out intentionally to have deniability.
We also see situations where citizens ask questions of the Council and the Council offers to meet privately. This means they don't have any accountability. They can tell citizens what they want to hear without any public record of their promises. It is to the benefit of the Citizens to have as much transparency as possible, and Hope will always fight for that.
We also see situations where citizens ask questions of the Council and the Council offers to meet privately. This means they don't have any accountability. They can tell citizens what they want to hear without any public record of their promises. It is to the benefit of the Citizens to have as much transparency as possible, and Hope will always fight for that.
Living Wage Jobs
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Freedom from Oppression and Bigotry
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