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
Town Hall on Housing Affordability & Homelessness Crisis
Every eight years the state assesses how much housing California needs. This cycle, the assessments doubled and, in some cases, tripled for cities across the state. Palo Alto will be required to build more than 6,000 housing units between 2023 and 2031. However, the Governor and State Legislators just mandating “Build, Baby, Build” are only exacerbating the problem. Housing is not just a California issue. What’s really causing our housing prices to be so unaffordable?
Our speaker, Sharon Byrne, from the United Nations Association of Santa Barbara, suggests that the problems may be more widespread than we realize. On October 16, 2021 she spoke at a Town Hall hosted by Lydia Kou. Watch the video and judge for yourself.
ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 23 CITIES
