The Destructive Power of Party Politics
Game Changers: An Interview with Jim Connor
The Sacramento Legislature has lost its Compass!
In a candid conversation, Lydia Kou shares her transformation from a reluctant City Council member to a passionate advocate for change in Sacramento.
With a focus on common sense and fiscal responsibility, Lydia Kou aims to shake up the status quo, where political party interests often overshadow the needs of the people. Her unwavering dedication to public safety and her comprehensive approach to homelessness and housing issues highlight her commitment to serving the people of California.
This conversation is part of a series, intended to provide visibility to candidates seeking elected office in the 2024 elections.
In this episode, I had an opportunity to sit down with Lydia Kou, who is a Council member and was mayor of Palo Alto, CA. She’s on a mission to bring practical, people-centered solutions to the challenges facing California. In a forthright, candid discussion, Lydia said that her political party needs to refocus on solving the big issues in California and stop wasting time and money. Together, we discuss pressing issues including crime, housing, homelessness, government waste and fiscal responsibility.
I’m confident her perspectives and insights will be informative about her purpose in seeking to represent District 23, the northern part of Silicon Valley in the California Assembly.
Disrupting the status quo in Sacramento and bringing Common Sense back to government is the goal.
Politics is local and affects YOU and me.
While much is going on at the national level, we need to pay attention to what is happening right here:
• Reduction of our voices,
• More taxation, and
• Destruction of our community character
Stopping the politicians who are taking away local democracy
Sacramento isn’t working for regular people. It works for the big donors, special interests and career politicians. As a mayor of a local city, I see this first hand – we get slogans from politicians, we get press releases from Sacramento, we even get blamed for problems they started – but we don’t get results.
Keeping our communities safe
Ensuring public safety is one of the core responsibilities of our elected leaders. And in many circumstances, we work to keep our communities safe and be compassionate at the same time.
Addressing the insanity of street homelessness
We need both long-term and short-term solutions. Short-term we need to look at navigation centers and proven mental health treatment programs that include full drug treatment and help keep participants clean and off the streets.
Getting smart about government spending
We are tired of constantly dumping more and more tax dollars into solutions that seem to yield very little – if any – results. It’s time for Sacramento politicians tighten their belts and get smart about spending.
NEWS
ABAG Appeals Hearing on RHNA
The ABAG Appeals Meeting for Palo Alto is scheduled for October 22, 2021 from 9AM to 5PM and will include unincorporated Marin county, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Monte Sereno, Palo Alto, Saratoga, and unincorporated Santa Clara county.
For the upcoming 6th Cycle of the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (2023-2031) Palo Alto’s RHNA allocation will be 6068 units. During the current 5th Cycle (2015-2023) Palo Alto’s RHNA allocation was 1,988 units. We believe the City of Palo Alto received between 530 and 2,515 additional housing units more than it should have been assigned. Accordingly, the City of Palo Alto, based on the criteria set forth in state law, is requesting a mid-point reduction of 1500 housing units resulting in an adjusted RHNA of 4,586 housing units.
ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 23 CITIES
