Bold idea on housing emerges from candidates’ forum

BY ELAINE GOODMAN
Daily Post Correspondent

A candidate for Mountain View City Council wants the city to get into the housing business, buying up affordable units that can be used wherever there’s the greatest need.

The city could potentially borrow money for the housing by issuing bonds, said candidate John McAlister, who previously served on council from 2012 to 2020.

“The city council and all these other organizations are always waiting for somebody else to build it,” McAlister said of affordable housing. “We need to take control of it and be proactive and build these items now.”

McAlister’s comments came during a candidate forum on Saturday (Aug. 17) hosted by the Mountain View Mobile Home Alliance. All nine candidates for four seats on council participated in the Zoom event.

Another incumbent running for re-election is Emily Ann Ramos. She was appointed to council last year to fill a vacancy. Ramos works at nonprofit SV@Home as a housing preservation and protection associate.

Ramos said she’s excited about city programs aimed at preventing residents from being forced out of the city due to a lack of housing they can afford. Those include giving displaced tenants priority when applying for new housing.

In addition to questions on housing, candidates were asked how they would prioritize the infrastructure needs of mobile home parks.

Internet access

Broadband internet access is a top priority for candidate Devon Conley, who is president of the Mountain View Whisman school board.

“Internet access is a human right,” Conley said. “Everyone should have access to high-quality broadband.”

Conley said she formed a coalition with other school board members across the county during the Covid pandemic to make sure students had internet access. She said the city should work with Santa Clara County, which is developing a broadband strategic master plan.

Broadband is also a priority for candidate Chris Clark, who served on council from 2013 to 2021 and is now running for another term.

Google’s ‘pull back’

Clark said he’s worried about Google’s “pull back” from its development plans in the North Bayshore area. For example, the company recently dropped its plans for a large office development there. As a result, infrastructure improvements that were a part of those projects are now in question.

“We’re going to have to look at what key infrastructure projects we should try our best to move forward on, even if we don’t have them as an immediate partner,” Clark said.

Candidate Erik Poicon said the city should focus on infrastructure improvements that will improve the quality of life for residents. Those might include better drainage to prevent flooding, improving bike lanes on major corridors to increase safety, adding more sheltered bus stops and increasing the frequency of bus service.

Poicon, who is a member of the city’s Human Relations Commission, said the city should ask residents what improvements they’d like to see.

Microgrids

Candidate Nicholas Hargis said he’d like to explore microgrids for the city’s mobile home parks. A microgrid is a group of energy sources, such as solar panels with battery storage, that can supply power to homes when there’s a grid outage.

Hargis is a field representative for Congresswoman Anna Eshoo. He also said he’d like to see more vegetation planted to shield mobile home parks from the major transportation corridors that often run next to them and are a source of pollution.

Candidate Jose Gutierrez, who is a member of the city’s Environmental Planning Commission, also likes the idea of microgrids as a way to protect residents from power outages.

Gutierrez said the city has a list of priorities that’s been expanding for years.

“There’s not going to be enough money for everything,” he said. “We’re going to have to re-examine what it is that’s important to us.”

Pat Showalter, a council incumbent and current mayor who is running for another term, said projects should meet multiple objectives. As an example, she cited “complete streets,” which include space for walking and biking as well as driving. The streets are tree-lined to make them more pleasant to travel on, while also providing corridors for wildlife.

“What really counts is how it all fits together,” Showalter said. “It is important for the council to always keep their eye on that.”

Climate

Candidates were also asked what Mountain View should do to address the threat of climate change.

Candidate IdaRose Sylvester said the city needs to end its reliance on fossil fuels. Those include gasoline for cars and natural gas used in home appliances. Sylvester is a member of the city’s Human Relations Commission and was on the Environmental Sustainability Task Force.

Although the city’s goal is to be carbon-neutral in 2045, Sylvester said that target must be met much sooner. “There are ways we can do that, to electrify,” she said. “We know how to do it, we have the technology. It provides jobs. It makes homes safer and cleaner.”