Councilman Pat Burt, 72, said he wants to see through nine affordable housing projects that are under construction or in the pipeline, and he wants to deliver on a climate plan that seeks to get rid of natural gas appliances in Palo Alto.
“Budget and policy decisions made in the coming months and years will affect our city’s future for decades to come,” Burt said in his announcement.
Burt, a three-time mayor, was first elected in 2008. He said he ran in 2020 to restore cuts to the police department and firefighters made during Covid, and to ensure that elected officials, not city employees, lead on key decisions.
Four seats in play
Burt’s seat on council is among four that will be decided by voters in the November election. Voters will get to pick their top four candidates.
On the pro-housing development side are Planning Commissioner George Lu, 31, and Human Relations Commissioner Katie Causey, 30.
Planning Commissioner Keith Reckdahl, 59, is backed by some of Palo Alto’s most prominent Residentialists, who are generally opposed to development and state housing mandates.
Burt is endorsed by Reckdahl and Vice Mayor Ed Lauing, who ran under the Residentialist label in 2020.
Councilwoman Lydia Kou, 57, and Councilman Greg Tanaka, 49, can’t run again in November due to term limits.
The winners will join Lauing, Councilwoman Vicki Veenker and Councilwoman Julie Lythcott-Haims, who endorsed Lu.
Burt is endorsed by 30 officials who have held public office before, including state Sen. Josh Becker, of Menlo Park, and former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, who is running to represent Palo Alto in Congress.
Burt is backed by six former Palo Alto mayors: Larry Klein, Eric Filseth, Lanie Wheeler, Yoriko Kishimoto, Peter Drekmeier and Karen Holman.
Palo Alto school board members Shana Segal and Todd Collins also endorsed Burt. So did Margaret Abe-Koga and Alison Hicks from Mountain View City Council, Los Altos Councilwoman Neysa Fligor and Menlo Park Councilman Drew Combs.
The man who thinks that after 10+ years we should not “rush” into a decision regarding grade separation. The man who loves the Palo Alto process is running again. This is the person who about 5 years ago said he had no plans to run for council again. And look who is supporting his – a who’s who of obstructionist – too much traffic kishimoto, design contest Holman etc