|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
With more than six years of experience on the Redwood City Housing and Human Concerns Committee, District 2 City Council Candidate Margaret Becker said it’s important for people to understand that actions speak louder than words.
“I think it's important when people talk about these issues that the public is able to identify people who advocate for things and people who actually get things passed and codified into law,” said Becker, who serves as the chair of the HHCC.
She gets things done, she said.
Now retired, the 57-year-old comes to the race with 20 years of experience as a public health professional. She calls herself a consensus builder and a collaborator.
Referring to her accomplishments, she said, “it might not be perfect, but it moves society in the right direction,” likening them to the recent climate bill. And that’s exactly what she’s been doing for the past six years: moving society forward, she said.
In 2018, under her leadership, the HHCC introduced the inclusionary zoning ordinance that Redwood City would later pass that required developers to develop housing, of which 20% of it would be required to be at some level of affordability.
She was the chair of the HHCC when the city passed the RV Safe Parking Program, which paved the way for RV residents to get into more permanent housing and made it illegal for RVs to park on the streets.
Yet, Becker said she understands that being on the city council is like being on a team, not just with other council members but with local nonprofits, county supervisors and other community leaders. She said she has a lot of goals, but “some of them might be more realistic than others.”
“As you can imagine, it's not like you get elected and you just get things passed, but I have some visions certainly for affordable housing because that is, at this point, my area of expertise,” Becker said, adding that she believes the City is moving in the right direction when it comes to addressing issues concerning affordable housing.
“It's really hard to get affordable housing funded, but there are some really creative solutions out there. And I would really like to be a part of seeing that happen so that we can build more affordable housing,’ she said. “…And I would really look forward to preserving [affordable housing] so that people don't get displaced.”
Any decision or any priority that she’d consider or make as a council member, she would see it “through an environmental mental impact lens.”
“And in fact, I feel the same way about equity,” she said. “We can't necessarily repair some of the things that have been done in the past. We can look at it. Maybe we can. But what we can do for sure is make sure that equity is also a lens that you look at all of our policy through.”
Becker said she supported the creation of the Navigation Center, which she believes will provide resources for unhoused individuals.
Earlier this year, the city broke ground on the Navigation Center, a 240-unit facility that came after years of negotiations on a property exchange between San Mateo County and Redwood City. The building, officials said, is designed for those at risk of homelessness and would be a crucial first step toward the county’s goal of effectively ending homelessness.
“…Partnerships with the county, continuing to support our nonprofits…,” she said. “I think that there's some some creative ways that we can really provide even more diverse services to homeless people to meet them where they are and help them make the transition.”
And while housing is one of her top priorities, the mother of two said that she’s also concerned about Redwood City’s public safety.
“I think we have a really great police force,” Becker said. “I'd be excited to work with our really good police force and also find ways to make sure that we recruit more diverse and continue the talent that we have in the police force.”
But she doesn’t take all the credit for getting things done. In fact, she said it’s important to engage the city’s residents through community forums. She’s listened in on some of them and taken notes on what residents have said.
“I'm not opposed to going door to door to talk to people. That seems to be a great way to engage people,” Becker said. “In fact, I've already talked to some of my constituents about some of the parking problems that they're facing and feel passionately about. If I were elected, I’m trying to have a community forum to discuss the parking in district 2.”
Her endorsements include former Redwood City mayors Ian Bain, Janet Borgens, Brent Britschgi and Dick Claire; Fellow city council candidates Kaia Eakin (district 5) and Diane Howard (district 6, current council member and former mayor) and San Mateo County Board Supervisor David Canepa, who is also running for California’s 15th Congressional District in November against State Assembly member Kevin Mullin.
