BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Palo Alto Councilwoman Julie Lythcott-Haims is getting behind the newest candidate for council.
Planning Commissioner George Lu announced his candidacy yesterday (May 28), becoming the second pro-housing candidate under 35 to enter the race.
Lu is endorsed by Lythcott-Haims, school board member Jennifer Di-Brienza and two former mayors: Larry Klein and Gail Price.
Lu, 31, grew up in Millbrae as the child of immigrants and graduated from Stanford in 2014. He now works at Meta as a product manager and lives in the Mayfield neighborhood by California Avenue.
Lu has been on the Planning and Transportation Commission since last April. He said in his announcement that he’s “seen first-hand how challenging it is to move the needle” on issues like traffic safety and housing affordability.
“Our city deserves an efficient and responsive government,” Lu said. “If we work together, we can reduce traffic deaths, invest in our neighborhoods, achieve our climate goals, and ensure the viability of local businesses.”
Lu said on his campaign website that he wants to make it less expensive and less complicated for small businesses to operate in Palo Alto.
“When we lose businesses like the Nut House or CineArts theater, we don’t get them back,” he said, referring to a longtime bar on California Avenue and a movie theater at Palo Alto Square.
Four seats are up for grabs in the fall.
Councilwoman Lydia Kou, 57, and Councilman Greg Tanaka, 49, can’t run again due to term limits. Councilman Pat Burt, 72, has filed papers to run for re-election.
Lythcott-Haims is the first sitting council member to endorse someone in the race.
Katie Causey, a pro-housing and pro-cycling member of the city’s Human Relations Commission, announced her campaign in March.
Causey, 30, is endorsed by Mountain View council members Emily Ann Ramos and Lucas Ramirez, East Palo Alto Mayor Antonio Lopez, former Redwood City Mayor Giselle Hale and state Board of Equalization member Sally Lieber.
All candidates should be asked to sign a pledge saying that they won’t virtue signal during council meetings. No bragging about how they personally helped a homeless guy or that they did something personally to stop climate change. And certainly no speeches about foreign wars. That won’t stop them from being preachy and condescending, but it’s a start.