Redwood City Planning Commissioner and Friendly Acres Neighborhood Association co-chair Isabella Chu is back in the race for District 3’s city council seat in 2024.
She is once again challenging Lissette Espinoza-Garnica, this time, she said, with an eye on practical, community-driven issues like public safety, housing, and infrastructure.
Chu, who ran in 2020, believes this election offers voters a clear choice between different approaches to leadership.
“I think in general, in a democracy, there should be at least two options,” Chu said, when talking about why she decided to run again. “It forces you to discuss salient issues, and it really gives people the opportunity to select the representative that they think is going to best serve their interests and represent their point of view.”
A public health professional and associate director at Stanford’s Center for Population Health Sciences, Chu said she brings expertise in navigating complex policies and regulatory environments, which she believes will be an asset in securing much-needed federal funds for Redwood City’s infrastructure.
“There’s money for ferries, there’s money for trains, there’s money for buses, there’s money for safety improvements,” Chu said, “I think that I can really bring that experience to bear on helping try to think about which of these grants we should go after.”
One of Chu’s top priorities is public safety, particularly road safety. She noted that speeding and dangerous roads are significant concerns for District 3 residents. Citing the high rate of road deaths in the U.S., especially for pedestrians and cyclists, Chu stressed that the solutions are simple and effective but often underutilized.
“… The means to reduce road deaths are low cost, low tech, proven available and effective,” Chu said, pointing to measures such as narrowing lanes, adding roundabouts and speed tables as critical steps Redwood City could implement, particularly around schools. “We don’t want our kids hit by cars.”
Chu also said another concern of hers is housing affordability.
In our community, we have many multi-generational households that you know, where they own their own home, and they have the ability to adapt their home to meet the needs of their family, whether that’s adding an ADU or another story or more space,” she said. I really see permitting your form and flexibility, offering and building flexibility as offering families a pathway where they can take what they already have and adapt it to their household.”
As for infrastructure challenges, such as flooding in District 3, which she identified as one of the areas most vulnerable to floods in Redwood City, she plans to work with local organizations and federal programs to address these concerns, using her experience in public health and regulatory processes to push for improvements.
Chu said she is cautious about cannabis retail.
In 2022, the city awarded four local businesses cannabis storefront licenses and later awarded two more licenses.
Chu said she supports legalizing and regulating cannabis, but she is concerned about health risks, particularly for young people.
“It’s not your grandma’s cannabis,” she said. “I think I would approach cannabis the same way I would approach any other substance—you want to watch it, tax it, regulate it, and just keep an eye on what the sort of consequences are.”
Chu distinguishes herself from her opponent with a pragmatic, collaborative approach to leadership.
“The biggest differences are in approach, emphasis, and there are a couple of issues where we do have different perspectives,” she said while also acknowledging her respect for incumbent Espinoza-Garnica.
If elected, Chu promises to be accessible and engaged with her constituents, drawing from her professional experience. She plans to hold regular office hours and town hall meetings to ensure residents have opportunities to voice their concerns directly.
To hear more from the city council candidates, check out Redwood City Election Watch 2024. Also, check out the rest of our election coverage.
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