Redwood Metropolis: These 6 candidates are running for three open up seats on city council

REDWOOD City — Six candidates are vying for a few open up district seats on the Redwood Metropolis Council, which include a woman who is jogging unopposed.

Retired Kaiser Permanente communications advisor Margaret Becker, nonprofit events coordinator Chris Struken, housing attorney Alison Madden, nonprofit government Kaia Eakin, minister and businessman Jerome Madigan and recent council member Diane Howard are all functioning for seats in three district elections on Nov. 8.

It’s the second time Redwood Metropolis voters have forged their ballot in district elections right after switching from at-substantial council seats in 2019 when the town was threatened with a lawsuit below the California Voting Legal rights Act, which makes it possible for minorities to sue a city if they can show an at-massive election system “dilutes” their votes and will make it challenging for them to elect candidates.

In District 6, Madigan is likely head-to-head in opposition to council member and former Mayor Diane Howard, who has been a fixture of Redwood City politics for decades.

Madigan, who is a minister at Very first Baptist Church of San Carlos, has lived in Redwood Town with his wife and three children for 20 years and is operating to alter the makeup of the council and deliver in new voices.

Madigan said in his prospect assertion that he is becoming a member of the race due to the fact he’s “concerned about our potential and would like to struggle to assure the ideal excellent of existence for all of our residents.” He is operating in guidance of regulation enforcement, initial responders, prioritizing economical housing, developing a new homebuyer plan and tackling targeted visitors.

Howard has been on the town council because 2013, but has had previous stints on the council likely again to 1994. Howard was initially elected to the council from 1994-2009 and served as vice mayor a few occasions, and two times as mayor. She is jogging yet again to “preserve neighborhoods, boost quality of lifetime, continue on intelligent growth, guarantee economic stability” and secure funding for around infrastructure and town solutions.

In her applicant statement, Howard touts her accomplishments when on the council during coronavirus, such as new housing downtown around transit, funding for homeless expert services and opening a momentary RV Risk-free Parking application.

In District 5, Eakin is jogging unopposed and has former city expertise having served on the Redwood Town Historic Methods Advisory Committee. In her applicant assertion, Eakin claims she has lived in the metropolis for 20 years and is prioritizing housing for all amounts of affordability and to “improve our transportation infrastructure to assist a various workforce” although also mitigating the impacts of weather transform on the city.

In District 2, Becker, Sturken and Madden are running for the open council seat. Becker is chair of the Redwood Metropolis Housing and Human Concerns Committee and has lived in the city for 20 several years. She said in her time on the committee she “initiate jobs to assist relieve homelessness, raise dialogue between assets homeowners and renters, and avoid displacement of inhabitants. She wants to prioritize “balanced growth” to “maintain the city’s beauty and history” and protect and increase very affordable housing.

Sturken is an cost-effective housing advocate who grew up in Belmont, exactly where he observed “how the housing disaster and the higher expense of living has impacted our local community.” He has lived in the metropolis for 4 several years and has served on the Redwood City Transportation Advisory Committee, where he advocated expanding the city’s bicycle community, and is currently a member on the Redwood Town Organizing Fee. As a gay individual, transit journey, bicyclist and renter, Sturken’s priorities are “affordable housing, harmless and trusted general public transportation and bikeways and a lot more equitable and inclusive town services.”

Madden is a housing legal professional and businesswoman who opened her individual regulation practice to focus on housing regulation and advocacy, which includes tenant protections, relocation and advocacy to “build at just about every earnings amount.”  She needs to aim on creating enough reduced-revenue houses to “avoid homelessness displacement and staying under-housed.” She also wishes to aim on making “green zones” across the city and “afforestation, or in weather discuss, eco-friendly wherever there never was any.”