Looking Back on My First Year on East Palo Alto City Council
I was sworn into East Palo Alto’s City Council a year ago on December 17th, 2024. It has been a tremendous honor serving on East Palo Alto's City Council as Vice-Mayor with Mayor Martha Barragan. We got a lot done! I remain very grateful to the voters of East Palo Alto for electing me to serve on City Council.
The past year has been dedicated to a platform of good governance, quality of life, and resolving longstanding challenges regarding housing, parking, and street safety. While the path toward progress has occasionally met with debate, a clear focus on order and community improvement has guided the City's direction. We still have a long ways to go, but are taking steps in the right direction.
Through close collaboration between City Council and staff, we made significant strides to improve the daily lives of residents. I worked closely with Martha Barragan and Webster Lincoln to get this done - this was very much a group effort!
Additionally, a shout out to City Manager Melvin Gaines, Shiri Klima, Orly Amey, Denise Garcia, Jeff Liu, Tomo Oku, Humza Javed, Batool Zaro, Maurice Baker and the rest of city staff for putting in long hours to make things happen in 2025. Direction from the City Council is only the first step; the real impact happens when staff translates those ideas into measurable, concrete action.
Key Accomplishments in 2025
- Public Safety & Code Enforcement: The City budgeted for and directed staff to prioritize code enforcement. We want to see a clean city, not blighted neighborhoods filled with trash, rusting appliances, and broken down vehicles on people's front lawns. Additionally, the Flock Camera program was extended for three years, providing local law enforcement with an essential tool needed to identify and capture criminals.
- Parking & Infrastructure: To address congestion and safety, the Council approved third-party parking enforcement to ensure consistent application of city rules. We will soon have 24x7 enforcement of parking rules - which should help bring our chaotic street parking under control.
- Brighter, Safer Streets: A massive increase in the street lighting budget was secured. Residents will soon see improved lighting on city streets and new field lighting for soccer and baseball at MLK Park.
- Parks & Recreation: Significant investments were directed toward park maintenance and upgrades, including new scoreboards at Jack Farrell and MLK Parks, a new dog park, and various essential maintenance fixes.
https://www.ci.east-palo-alto.ca.us/parksrec/page/quick-win-park-projects
- Youth & Community Programming: New funding was secured to offer free weekend access to the EPA YMCA, including free swimming lessons and youth sports.
- Emergency Preparedness: Resources were allocated to strengthen the City's disaster readiness, ensuring East Palo Alto is better prepared for major seismic events. We still have a lot of work to do - but are better prepared today then we were last year. I wrote about this issue a few years ago after becoming CERT certified:
- The City funded music and film programming at EPACENTER, which is expected to be fully operational by early 2026. We should see live music of all types in the next year: reggae, banda, blues, jazz, salsa, zydeco, and music from all over the world.
My 2026 City Council agenda will focus on delivering progress for the residents of East Palo Alto. Key priorities include addressing housing and parking challenges, advancing a new City Hall, and enhancing public spaces. Through continued collaboration between the Council and city staff, work will proceed on critical infrastructure like safe routes to school to ensure a higher quality of life for the entire community.
We have plenty of work ahead of us in East Palo Alto! I'm taking a break for now and will pick things back up in early January.
🎄 Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! 🎆