Palo Alto Planning and Transportation Commission Chairwoman Cari Templeton announced her bid for city council this week.
Templeton, a 15-year Palo Alto resident, said the inequities and shortfalls in municipal government due to the COVID-19 pandemic inspired her to run for one of the four City Council seats up for grabs this fall.
“I am encouraged by the community coming together to face these challenges, whether sheltering-in-place to prevent the spread of COVID, providing feedback about city service cutbacks, or gathering peacefully to demand criminal justice reform,” she said in a press release announcing her candidacy. “There is more work to do. We must use this momentum to transform our good intentions into action, to create a stronger, more equitable city that is efficient, responsive to its residents and delivers justice for all.”
Prior to her appointment to the planning and transportation commission in 2018, Templeton worked in program management for Google for more than 10 years before retiring in 2017 to complete a master’s degree at Stanford University.
She currently lives in the Barron Park neighborhood with her husband and their two children, both of whom attend Palo Alto public schools.
“I will bring professional and collaborative energy to the city council, like I have brought to the Planning and Transportation Commission and before that, Google,” she said. “Crisis requires leadership, and I am ready to apply my experience as a high-tech professional, a mother, and a committed community activist to rebuild according to our community's needs and shared values.”
The council hopeful says her top priorities include setting inclusive goals that ensure underrepresented voices are heard, incentivizing public transportation to reduce traffic and emissions and reforming policing.
Attorney Rebecca Eisenberg and planning and transportation commissioner Ed Lauing have also announced their bids for the Palo Alto City Council, while incumbent Councilwoman Lydia Kou says she will be running for re-election.
So, now you are Palto Alto Inside, as well?
Each of the candidates should be asked to pledge to work to make compliance with the California Public Records Act a priority. Palo Alto has a long record of doing whatever it can to thwart the purposes of the CPRA.