Kou picked as mayor; Greer as vice mayor

BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer

Palo Alto City Council tonight (Jan. 9) picked Lydia Kou as mayor and Greer Stone as vice mayor for 2023.
Kou’s appointment was unanimous, as she received plenty of praise on her way to ascending from her position as vice mayor, which she held for the last year.

“I am ready,” Kou said as she accepted her nomination.

Stone was picked over Councilman Greg Tanaka, who is entering his seventh year on council and has received strong support from voters in two elections.

Tanaka would automatically get a turn as mayor in most other mid-Peninsula cities, but Palo Alto leaves the decision up to council each year rather than rotating the roles. Under city law, council members only get two four-year terms, so Tanaka’s time to serve as mayor or vice mayor is running out.

New Councilwoman Julie Lythcott-Haims nominated him, as they share a pro-development mindset. Lythcott-Haims said Tanaka’s years of experience, strong voter support, smart analysis and passion for listening to “regular folk” make him qualified to be vice mayor this year and mayor next year.

“He is efficient. He is dedicated,” she said.

Tanaka accepted the nomination, and he talked about his grandfather living in a Japanese internment camp and growing up in poverty. He said he is the only council member who has school-aged kids, and his experience as a CEO would help him run impartial and efficient meetings.

Tanka pointed out that he received more votes than Stone in two elections.

“I bring more experience, diverse skills and community trust,” he said.

But Tanaka‚ who often casts the lone “no” vote and has gotten into squabbles with former Mayor Pat Burt and City Manager Ed Shikada — only received two votes, including his own.

New Councilwoman Vicki Veenker nominated Stone because she said he is a “moderate” who would move beyond “factions.”

Stone, 33, brings a younger perspective and is the only council member who rents an apartment, Veenker said.
“He has the strength to vote his conscience but is also judicious about when to join with colleagues,” Veenker said.

Stone was praised for being the only council member who voted to have police un-encrypt their radios, allowing the public to listen in. While Stone was outvoted 6-1, he successfully clarified with the state DOJ that the police department could un-encrypt its radios, contrary to what then police chief Bob Jonsen told council, and the policy was changed.

Even Kou, who supported encryption at the time, gave Stone kudos.

Stone is a history and government teacher at Carlmont High School in Belmont, and he taught at Gunn High School before. He got his start in politics at age 23 on the city’s Human Relations Commission, and he fell short in the 2016 council election before winning four years later.

New Councilman Ed Lauing said Stone has done a better job than Tanaka at being prepared, efficient and focused on the issue at hand.

“He truly wants to hear multiple points of view,” Lauing said.

Stone was the one to nominate Kou, calling her passionate, experienced and empathetic. She knocked on doors and filled sandbags during recent floods, and she serves food to seniors in her spare time. She does this because she cares, not to further her political ambitions, Stone said.

“She will excel as soon as she takes the gavel,” he said.

Kou was born in Hong Kong and grew up overseas in Sudan and Guam. She is a realtor and property manager, and she is against putting apartment complexes near low-density neighborhoods.

Kou is also strongly opposed to the state taking away local control, particularly when it comes to housing.