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By Supervisor Lisa Gauthier, District 4
When I first ran for office in East Palo Alto, I made a promise: I would make sure that residents who don’t always have a voice are heard and represented. That commitment drives everything I do as your County Supervisor. Today, I’m asking you to help me keep that promise by taking ten minutes to complete San Mateo County’s Community Emergency Preparedness Survey.
This isn’t just another government form. It’s a direct line to the people who plan our county’s emergency response—the decisions about where resources go, how warnings are communicated, and what support is available when disaster strikes. Your answers will shape those decisions for years to come.
Right now, the voices from our communities are barely being heard. East Palo Alto accounts for less than 2% of survey responses so far. North Fair Oaks, Belle Haven, and communities throughout District 4 are similarly underrepresented. If we don’t speak up, emergency plans will be built around other people’s needs—not ours.
I know there are reasons some of us hesitate. Let me be clear about what this survey is and isn’t:
- It’s completely anonymous. No names. No addresses. No way to trace responses back to you or your family. The county isn’t collecting personal information—we’re collecting community needs.
- It’s available in Spanish and Mandarin, not just English. We worked with community-based organizations and residents with access and functional needs to design questions that make sense for our communities.
- It takes about ten minutes—and many people tell us that answering the questions sparked important conversations with their families about emergency plans they hadn’t discussed before.
The survey asks practical questions: Do you know your evacuation routes? Have you signed up for SMC Alerts? If you had to leave your home quickly, where would you go? What barriers might prevent you from evacuating—transportation, health concerns, nowhere to go, worry about leaving your home unprotected?
These questions matter because the answers vary dramatically across our county. The challenges facing a family in East Palo Alto or North Fair Oaks are different from those in Hillsborough or Portola Valley. Emergency planners need to understand those differences to serve all of us effectively—not just those who traditionally have the loudest voice in government.
This survey was funded by Measure K—the half-cent sales tax that San Mateo County residents approved to invest in local priorities. That means you’ve already paid for this work. Now make sure it reflects your reality.
Take the Survey in Person This Sunday
Join us at the North Fair Oaks Community Celebration on Sunday, December 7th from 12:00 to 3:00 PM at the Middlefield Road and 2nd Avenue parking lot in Redwood City. San Mateo County Emergency Management staff will be there to answer questions, help you complete the survey, and share resources for your emergency kits as well as answer your questions about emergency preparedness. Bring the whole family—there will be music, a children’s train, petting zoo, Santa, and food. It’s a chance to celebrate our community while making sure our voices are heard.
Throughout my years on the East Palo Alto City Council—through the COVID-19 pandemic, through major storms, through the challenges our community has faced—I’ve seen how emergencies hit hardest in communities that were already struggling. Low-income families, renters, people without reliable transportation, seniors living alone, residents who don’t speak English as a first language—these are the neighbors who need emergency planning to work for them, not around them.
Planning can only work for us if planners hear from us.
Share this survey with your family, your neighbors, your congregation, your coworkers. Post it on social media. Mention it at the laundromat, the grocery store, the bus stop. The more of us who participate, the more our specific needs—affordable evacuation options, multilingual communication, support for multigenerational households, resources for renters—will be reflected in how the county prepares for and responds to emergencies.
Emergency management is built on a simple idea: everyone deserves to be safe, prepared, and informed. But safety isn’t one-size-fits-all. It requires understanding who lives in our communities, what they need, and what barriers they face so we can all be ready for what comes next. This survey is how we build that understanding.
Your voice matters. Make sure it’s counted.
San Mateo County Emergency Management: Community Assessment Survey
County officials seek public input on Dumbarton route between Redwood City and East Palo AltoSeptember 28, 2026 10:28 am