District 2

I am deeply concerned by the Trump-appointed U.S. Supreme Court's inhumane decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson that allows cities to further criminalize homelessness and clear encampments without being required to provide shelter beds for our unhoused neighbors.

The solution to homelessness is housing. Without offering some form of shelter, evictions, citations, or jail time only further harm our neighbors who already have so little. I am committed to ensuring that our County continues the progress we have made toward functional zero homelessness by providing dignified services, shelter, and housing for our unhoused residents.

On May 21st, nearly 30 students at Portola Elementary school reported symptoms consistent with tear gas exposure after a training exercise involving the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department and UC Berkeley police where tear gas was deployed.

This incident is deeply alarming to me. Children should under no circumstances be exposed to chemical agents such as tear gas.

After being exposed to tear gas, the children reported symptoms including coughing, watery eyes, wheezing and trouble breathing.

As a County Supervisor, I feel a moral obligation to protect the health of children in San Mateo County. Tear gas should never be tested next to a school, let alone an elementary school.

I urge the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department to permanently cease all testing of chemical agents at the San Bruno Jail, which is adjacent to Portola Elementary School and Skyline College.

On Monday, March 4, 2024, I sponsored a Resolution in Solidarity with Healthcare Workers and Civilians in Gaza, introduced at the San Mateo Medical Center Board of Directors. While the outcome of vote was not what I hoped for, I am committed to speaking up against the violation of human rights wherever they occur. What makes the genocide in Gaza unique is the total collapse of the medical system, the blockade of food and medicine, and the targeting of Gaza’s best and brightest, which includes over 600 medical workers who have been killed while providing life-saving care. I will continue to condemn any and all attacks on innocent civilians and medical workers, even if it means I do so alone.

Every forum of power is the right place to speak up for human rights and I am proud of standing on the right side of history alongside many others in San Mateo County, our nation, and the world. 

It is no secret that San Mateo County is one of the most expensive places to live in California. San Mateo County is one of the only two counties in the United States where median home values top $1.5 million. As a community we should be working together to create more affordable and welcoming neighborhoods, not uphold or create exclusive and unwelcoming practices that keep our community divided. As county leaders, it is our responsibility to weigh in when we see these tactics being used to continue the legacy of redlining.

In the City of San Mateo, a very concerning effort led by a small group of homeowners seeks to designate Baywood, the 20th most segregated neighborhood of white wealth in the Bay Area, as a “historic district.” By making Baywood a historic district, they would create a template that could be replicated all across the city, county, and potentially the state. I have heard deep concern from my constituents that this historic district designation would infringe on the rights of property owners to renovate their homes by imposing unnecessary bureaucratic and financial hurdles. 

Board President Warren Slocum and I presented a resolution to the Board in opposition to these efforts that called on this group to rescind their application and for the National Register of Historic Places to reject the application. While the resolution did not receive the support necessary to pass, I am proud to have elevated this important issue that will affect our entire county and have received support from councilmembers across our county for doing so.  

On Tuesday, January 30, 2024, the Board of Supervisors voted to enact a new ordinance that will significantly change how the County addresses encampments in unincorporated areas. The new ordinance, called the Hopeful Horizons: Empowering Lives Initiative, will create a new procedure for the County that governs encampments on public property in unincorporated areas. I am hopeful about many aspects of this ordinance, including protections for unhoused residents’ belongings when encampments are cleared. I applaud Supervisor Slocum, Supervisor Pine, and our dedicated county staff for taking leadership to address the homelessness crisis in our county. The status quo is not working, and it must change. 

However, while I initially voted to advance the ordinance at the January 23rd Board of Supervisors meeting because of the many ways it will address homelessness in our county, I ultimately voted against adopting the ordinance on January 30th. I am concerned that by imposing a new misdemeanor penalty on unhoused residents who do not accept shelter within 72 hours, our unhoused neighbors may face new barriers when applying to housing in the future. In California, landlords can ask applicants for their conviction records – including misdemeanors – and this information may be used to reject a prospective tenant even if they meet other requirements. This concerns me deeply, because it might prevent our unhoused neighbors from accessing housing even if they have the economic resources to apply for a rental in the future.  

I am confident that county staff will work diligently to ensure that unhoused residents affected by this ordinance will be protected and that they will have access to court diversion programs that may be able to erase their charges. Nonetheless, I am committed to staying in touch with our dedicated county staff to understand how the rollout of this new ordinance will impact our unhoused neighbors. I am committed to understanding what steps are being taken to protect their belongings, their safety, and their ability to apply for rental housing. I am looking forward to working collaboratively with staff as the county implements this new ordinance to ensure it protects our most vulnerable neighbors.