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Katie Causey, a Palo Alto resident and community organizer, became the first candidate on March 26 to declare candidacy for the Palo Alto City Council.
Causey, who serves on the city’s Human Relations Commission, is known for her roles at various local nonprofits, including the Palo Alto Renters’ Association, a group that was formed to assist local tenants and that was recently absorbed into the broader pro-housing nonprofit, Palo Alto Forward. Her full-time job is as a community organizer for the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition.
Causey said it was her experiences in helping the tenants who were facing eviction from Layne Court homes in 2022 — and the council’s response to those evictions — that propelled her to run. The evictions at Layne Court were among the factors that prompted the council to pass a new law in February 2022 that expanded the types of housing that would be eligible for relocation assistance.
“I had just been talking with the community members, neighbor after neighbor, and they were largely seniors who had lived there for 30 years or more,” Causey said in an interview. “They had nowhere to go.”
“And I saw that overnight the council was able to pass this policy and the difference that this made — how that slowed people’s eviction and made a massive difference in people’s lives.”
Housing, she said, would be a top priority if elected. This means not just below-market-rate housing, which everyone on the council agrees is desperately needed, but residential development that targets higher income levels as well.
She also wants to focus on sustainability, which means fixing up sidewalks and making local roads safer for cyclists and pedestrians.
“That means we need roads that aren’t too dangerous for neighbors who walk or bike along them; that we don’t have narrow, cracked sidewalks preventing neighbors with wheelchairs or mobility aids from using them,” Causey said in a statement. “When a road is safe for a 60-year-old in a wheelchair, it’s safe for a 6-year-old on a bike. That’s how we lead on combating climate change — with safe, sustainable infrastructure.”
Causey said that as a council member, she would be committed to creating a more inclusive community. This includes, among other things, organizing Palo Alto’s first LGBTQ+ Pride celebration. Currently, residents need to go to other cities to take part in pride celebrations, she said. Holding a downtown pride parade would not only make more people feel included but it would also enliven the city’s commercial areas.
“Palo Alto is a diverse city; all our community members deserve to feel seen, safe, and celebrated,” she said in her announcement. “Especially in light of rising loneliness, it’s more important than ever that we invest in spaces for community members to come together and strengthen cultural bonds.”
That means we need roads that aren’t too dangerous for neighbors who walk or bike along them; that we don’t have narrow, cracked sidewalks preventing neighbors with wheelchairs or mobility aids from using them. When a road is safe for a 60-year-old in a wheelchair, it’s safe for a 6-year-old on a bike. That’s how we lead on combating climate change — with safe, sustainable infrastructure.”
Causey said she has been interested in volunteering since she was a student at Palo Alto High School, where she joined Key Club and partook in activities like Baylands cleanup days and playground repairs. She went on to George Washington University, where she earned a degree in women’s studies.
She ran for a seat on the Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Trustees in 2020 and fell just short, finishing fourth in a race for three open seats.
She is the first candidate to announce a bid for a council that will see four seats up for grabs in November. Council members Lydia Kou and Greg Tanaka are both concluding their second consecutive terms this year and will term out. Mayor Greer Stone and Council member Pat Burt are both concluding their current terms but are eligible to run again.
Causey has already secured the endorsements of elected officials outside Palo Alto, many of whom have been on the frontlines of encouraging housing in their own communities. These include former Redwood City Mayor Giselle Hale, Mountain View council members Lucas Ramirez and Emily Ann Ramos, East Palo Alto Mayor Antonio Lopez and California State Board of Equalization Member Sally Lieber.
Palo Alto City Council members, past and present, are most easily distinguished by their position on housing: either they are pro-developer fans of SB9, which has resulted in nearly 2000 new housing units (as tall as 100 feet) proposed on El Camino in or near Barron Park; or they are in favor of allowing Barron Park to remain in its walk- and bicycle-friendly semi-rural condition, in an ocean of increasingly urban development.
I applaud Causey’s work to increase the bicycle-friendliness of Palo Alto. However, we don’t need another advocate for developers and high density growth on the City Council. And we don’t need someone who traffics in university identity politics and believes that it is important to make “safe spaces” in Palo Alto to protect its “diverse” population.
I grew up in West Hollywood – an overall gay community due to the entertainment industry as the major employer. No one felt the need to call themselves out or concern themselves with “acceptance”. Sexual identity is a personal choice that most other people are not concerned with. To imply that anyone here is concerned is in error. Katy is an accomplished person in her own right. Her personal life choices are her business – not a taxpayer event. The city of San Francisco is a Tourist city dependent on hotel revenue based on large events. We are not a Tourist City. While we welcome everyone we are here to support the main business of the city – not personal choices.
“When a road is safe for a 60-year-old in a wheelchair, it’s safe for a 6-year-old on a bike. That’s how we lead on combating climate change — with safe, sustainable infrastructure.”
What a nonsensical ageist thing to say.
“Housing, she said, would be a top priority if elected. This means not just below-market-rate housing, which everyone on the council agrees is desperately needed, but residential development that targets higher income levels as well.”
Well of course that’s what her deep-pocketed backers want because it’s so much more profitable to build for highly-paid techies making few hundred thou a year than building truly affordable housing for seniors and low-income people.
Why is it so difficult for seemingly intelligent people to understand the connection between more people and a poorer quality of life. You can’t fix all the roads and street and make communities more walkable and connected when you are constantly building more housing, adding more people and overcrowding the roads and neighborhoods.
You can’t have a green city when you add more and more consumers who buy and consume and make trash and pollute. Every environment (small and large) has its limits.
People who work for a living and support a family (without the aid of others) know about how to budget and make choices about what can and can’t be paid for, what they can afford and what the ramifications of their choices will be. We need to elect people who have managed to live a “real” life in the “real” world and understand how it works; the trade offs involved of adding more individuals to a family, the costs involved in housing them and supporting them. Bonus points to people who understand where their energy sources are generated, where their water comes from, those living lower consumption lifestyle and those who know where their trash from their purchases ends up.
She seems like a viable middle-of-the-road candidate to me. The comments above on the other hand seem pretty extreme.
Lots of good comments above.
Normally when somebody files papers for their candidacy, the PAW article is flooded with supporters joining just to do this. It is refreshing to see more honest comments here, or perhaps the supporters just don’t manage to work out the new website to find out how to comment!
What we don’t need in public office is another community organizer.
We need people from industry that know how to build a company, stay within budget and get things done in a timely manner. They need to understand that resident safety is of paramount importance so be a supporter of the police and those overlaying the policing with social services. Should be a strong personality to push back on Sacramento as they push harmful ABCs laws.
I thought Causey’s employment is with the Bike Coalition as their administrative assistant slash advocate.
“You can’t have a green city when you add more and more consumers who buy and consume and make trash and pollute. Every environment (small and large) has its limits.”
It hurts me how untrue this is. All of Europe would disagree with this….. Actually pretty much he rest of the world disagrees with this – because it isn’t true. Density is the ONLY way to be green. It is out buggiest opportunity for GHG reductions locally. Not to mention higher density = more transit ridership, healthier schools and local businesses, as well as less wastewater, VMT, water use, and energy use per capita.
Please do some research on climate before you say this. The Berkeley Cool Climate Lab, Terner Center, or even the Enterprise Institute are great places to start
I can’t wait to vote for Katie! She knows our city, and knows how to lead it towards a brighter future of homes for all.
Much needed policies to improving our city. Katie seems to understand what the next generation of residents wants instead of preserving the status quo.
Really Palo Alto could use all the housing, transit and biking it can get. More people living here, especially around our transit centers, means a more vibrant and affordable community.
The exit of Kou from the Council will open up a seat to help implement policies that support reasonable housing policy. Hopefully, we will continue to see the decline of the residentialist faction which has controlled Palo Alto for too long.
Dedicating taxpayer dollars for a single theme event Is not a winner. Idea – at the June Arts and Wine Festival have a section of the street where all of the Activist groups can have a booth with what ever they think is appropriate for their organization. Palo Alto Forward. Bicycle people – they can provide info on good night lights for bikes and provide some repair work. Senior organizations – what they offer. City organizations – what they offer. Utility people – what is new in their upgrades for the city. Youth group interests, Any group that wants can have a booth to provide what ever they think is appropriate to describe their group. That way any and all special interests groups can celebrate their activities. Their activities are as important to them as yours is to you.