BY AMELIA BISCARDI
Daily Post Staff Writer
The two candidates in the race to replace Warren Slocum on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, are speaking out on homelessness.
Two East Palo Alto City Council members, Lisa Gauthier and Antonio Lopez, are running to represent the district that includes their city, Redwood City, North Fair Oaks and parts of Menlo Park.
Gauthier said she wants to ensure residents feel safe, but not criminalizing the homeless.
Under the county’s policy, when authorities are clearing a homeless encampment in an unincorporated area, the homeless would receive a ticket if they have refused two offers to move indoors.
Gauthier said she doesn’t completely agree with the board’s homeless policy, saying she doesn’t want to “punish people who are poor.”
She said part of the solution is to make sure everybody can obtain job training.
“Most people want to be able to take care of themselves. They want to stay housed. They want to be able to take care of their families,” Gauthier said.
Gauthier said there are many nonprofits who can help the homeless or people on the edge of homelessness.
Lopez declined to answer questions submitted via email on Oct. 8, saying it was too close to Election Day.
However, he brought a resolution to council on Sept. 17, proposing that the city find a safe way to compassionately relocate homeless people when there are safety or health concerns. He was shut down by the majority of council, including Gauthier.
Lopez had previously held two press conferences on Aug. 14 and 21 discussing but not completely detailing a plan to work with the county and other cities on “compassionately clearing encampments.” When asked by the Post during his Aug. 14 press conference about the county’s camping ban, Lopez wasn’t aware the Board of Supervisors had passed an ordinance in January.
Gauthier told the Post that when Lopez had his first press conference on his homeless plan in August, East Palo Alto City Manager Melvin Gaines and Redwood City Mayor Jeff Gee were unaware of the event even though it involved both cities.
Lopez, 29, and Gauthier, 59, both grew up in East Palo Alto and currently sit on council. Lopez is mayor this year.
Gauthier is a senior vice president at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, the trade association known for its former leader Carl Guardino.
Gauthier received 45% of the vote during the primary for supervisor, ahead of Lopez and fellow contenders Maggie Cornejo, Paul Bocanegra and Celeste Brevard. The top two candidates in a supervisors primary go on to the general election.
Lopez is currently working on a doctorate in modern thought and literature from Stanford. Since graduating from Duke University in 2020, Lopez has worked in state Senator Josh Becker’s office and served on the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency, according to his website.
If successful, Lopez will become the most powerful Muslim elected in the Bay Area.