Lydia Kou would be so much better than Marc Berman.

Well I'll definitely be voting for Lydia Kou. I don't think people realize what Marc Berman is voting for in Sacramento, like SB10. Marc consistently votes for single family neighborhoods to be upzoned to high density multi-family.

I welcome Lydia Kou to represent the 23rd Assembly district as a much-needed voice for sensible city planning. We should be very fortunate to replace developer-funded pro-growth Berman with Kou.

Koui has consistently fought back against housing mandates and over-reach that are made by unelected bureaucrats in Sacramento. These mandates are backed by anti-democratic housing bills, such as State Senator Scott Wiener's bills SB-35 and SB-2 (Web Link that make it impossible for cities like Palo Alto to determine their residential zoning rules.

I’m glad to hear that Mayor Kou is running for a state assembly seat in an effort to stop the state takeover of land use regulations in California. The land in Palo Alto and other expensive California towns and cities is just too expensive to realistically build low income housing . The state law SB9 that passed will give us greater density, but not truly affordable housing. We need state funds to help cities like Palo Alto to build truly affordable housing in our area. If I understand it correctly, there used to be a California fund that helped cities with redevelopment.

Mayor Kou listens to residents and is an advocate for truly affordable housing. She does her homework and knows that Sacramento (Berman) is influenced by investment firms, developers and construction lobbies. He disrespected constituents on a zoom town hall addressing SB9. That bill was the central focus of the meeting where Berman refused to answer any politely posed questions. He pushed back and stated that he couldn’t possibly address queries as he is busy with hundreds if not thousands of bills before him. His affect was submissive and condescending. He refused to respond to constituents who wanted answers. He is not respected for his tenure on the Palo Alto City Council. Lydia Kou will go to bat for voters and if elected will fight for democracy.

From watching Lydia on council for many years now I'd say she is a real moderate that wants build truly affordable housing for those that need it. I don't know what Berman has done since he's been on the State Assembly, I don't believe he's initiated much and as others have said he has supported a lot of these questionable laws that are lining developers pockets while housing costs have continued to go up.

Lydia listens to the voters and learns. I think her focus on property crime and homeless / mental health are also excellent areas in which the state has blundered. It's time for someone like Lydia to be our representative in Sacramento.

I'm happy to see an alternative choice

WONDERFUL NEWS!!!
Lydia Kou will advocate for Palo Alto as well as towns/cities throughout California to decide how their communities should be structured.
And not let blanket state wide decisions affecting housing etc. be made in Sacramento.

Go Lydia!! She really listens to residents, helps us get answers from the city and does her homework -- unlike Mr. Berman who wasted 200 people's time on a lengthy Zoom re housing where he had no answers, claimed he had "too many bills to review" to focus on housing, promised he or his staff would "research" each question and then failed to respond to any of us.

After wasting 2 hours of our time and pretending to listen, he promptly turned around and voted they way he always intended.

Such fantastic news! She takes a reasoned, logical approach to issues and has my vote.

This is good news indeed. Good luck and thank you to Lydia.

I hope she updates her views on homelessness. You can't force people into shelters. That implies if someone doesn't want to stay in a shelter, that they will be put in jail.

She seems to be okay with saying Sacramento can't force cities to do things they don't want to do. I invite her to use that same reasoning to look at *human beings* who are less fortunate than her. She can't just boss them around.

YEAH! We desperately need to change te direction this state is going in. Great news.

Paly02 - California needs to update the law about not forcing people off the streets. New York City was once a mess, then unhoused people were taken off the streets and housed.

Couldn’t be more enthusiastic about a political race!
Ms Kou is a true public servant who will work for us!!!!
Berman has always been kinda ho hum, he doesn’t appear to be passionate about anything.
Wish him well in his life after public office
Go lydia!!!

"That implies if someone doesn't want to stay in a shelter, that they will be put in jail. "

Not at all since the state isn't jailing the homeless, even when they commit crimes like the guy with the bus on El Camino who's repeatedly thrown things at people and threatened them. The state's system is so backed up they can't even handle cases of defendants who are mentally incompetent like the woman who tried to kidnap a kid at knife point last week and whose case was immediately suspended due to the backups.

‘Give me your kid’: Legal proceedings suspended in attempted kidnapping of 4-year-old boy in Hayward

Web Link

Maybe Mayor Kou is just recognizing reality,

I also welcome this news and especially appreciate that she does not intend to go along to get along. That approach has gotten us nowhere. I think the Democratic party chose to support Berman precisely b/c he would go along; he didn't have a compelling record of leadership stemming from his term on the PACC. But, thanks to some PAC, he did garner name-recognition.
Who can forget all those shiny campaign flyers? Name recognition can win an election (unfortunately) but it doesn't deliver what's needed. Courage, intelligence, and independence are needed. Sacramento has been a one-party, group-think kind of place for far too long and the state of our state suffers as a result. It is time for Berman to be challenged and all the better that the challenge is from an independent thinker and voter.

For the record, I am not a Republican. And I will be casting my vote for Lydia Kou.

I am pleased to hear this news that Lydia Kou will run for the CA state assembly and I will support her. She is a commonsense moderate. This helps a wider array of people.

I’ve been repeatedly disappointed in Marc Berman’s far left stances and far left party votes in the CA state assembly.
And yes, I’ve given Berman enough time to have shown his views. I am open minded.

Other than local control (good stance), it seems she’s appealing to mainly Republicans and Indys, using classic GOP bugaboos encouraging fear of crime (despite crime data it’s mostly down) and a homeless scheme based on force and ultimately jail. Both would sharply increase incarceration.

Does she want a return to determinate sentencing or 3 Strikes for crime, which were disasters and racially applied?

What cities would approve locked shelters with guards, or finance jails for non-compilers?

The promise of shelter space for all homeless isn't realistic financially or practically for the State (deficit budget cuts) and cities, and could create more unfunded mandates like state housing demands have.

Lastly, Caltrain, if ever extended would go directly to the Transbay Terminal and is not redundant. The terminal is THE Bay Area transportation hub for multi-modal including but not limited to busses and BART. The new subway, ending in Chinatown, does not go here.

Though I ,a Dem, have never and won’t vote for Berman, Kou’s pronouncements are disappointing.

A lot of folks have bought into the myth that giving developers everything they want will result in lowering the price of housing, when in fact, it will just make developers very rich. The assumption of highly elastic demand is false, especially for Palo Alto. Some folks assume if you don’t support massive developer giveaways the way Marc Berman does, while ignoring meaningful funding of below market housing needs, you’re a Republican.

I hate to miss her voice on council, but I believe she terms out for council in 2024 anyway, is that correct?

What would be terrific is if either DuBois or Filseth run and win for council again in 2024 and Kou deposes Berman.

I believe Kou is a Democrat, isn’t she? She is one of those rare people who really thinks about every issue and tries to see the different sides. She got into politics because she is driven to solve problems and serve our communities. Berman has been an even greater disappointment than he seemed poised to be. I really hope Kou wins. She is exactly what our state needs.

I will gladly NOT throw a vote her way. Mayor Kou is a really bad ill-informed city elected leader. She shuts out the process of public democratic engagement. Her inquiry in to the doings of City Staff are mis-guided [portion removed.] Last California state leadership role needs is a realtor in Sacramento who so obviously has a grudge against State Housing mandates. A crisis we are in due to land speculations and over blown housing prices. This recent stunt appears more about personal power and less about people. And to push her right wing agenda like: More citizen surveylience, less freedoms of our civil rights, more cronyism at the top tier. [Portion removed.] Berman is not too favorable in my opinion either. Yet his office helped a ton of locals get EDD answering when the Calif State Employment Dept stopped answering their phones. While billions of dollars "went missing", Berman worked through to get results for families who were going hungry, without gas, rent... She's a joke to diplomacy, or strong knowledgable women who lead with guts and grit.

I am a life-long Democrat and will be delighted to vote for Kou. Berman is well-intentioned, but misguided In his proposals.

Sacramento is broken, from our failed governor at the top, to those representing us down the list at the local level. It's the result of one party rule for decades. Hopefully, this can be a first small step in making change where it matters most. Failed Democrat/Liberal/Progressive policies have resulted in the state leading the country in homelessness and illegal immigrant population. Our public schools are performing poorly, we have rampant crime increases, the highest taxation rates both corporate and individual and the highest gas prices in the country, poorly managed road maintenance and more.

People are leaving the state in record numbers. Moderate Democrats, Republicans and Independents need to wake up and step up by cleaning house in Sacramento and voting in people with real world problem solving experience from the business sector if we are to turn this around.

I'm happy that she will challenge Berman for his seat and I will gladly vote for her. He's done nothing but play follow the leader and it's not working here or anywhere else in the state. Remember ... you get what you vote for.

Good comments by Easy8 and Silver Linings. Sometimes Lydia struggles to articulate what she wants to say, but she's clear enough to get her message across, loud and clear. I don't want to make any early predictions but I know she's in for a tough battle with a less deserving, but more well funded candidate for the State Assembly. I met and know Marc through my friend, Cory Wolbach, but I never liked the way he behaved and performed on city council. He and Liz Kniss sat next to each other and often whispered in each others ears while a speaker was at the podium. Very rude behavior!

@Native to the BAY. I'm glad you detected some flaws in Berman's record. In my opinion it's been a bad record for the most part, so far. And shame on you for comparing Lou's realty business and success to Trump's.

I also understand her concern about State mandated housing. She is in favor of more housing, and more affordable housing, but only if it's done in the right way. If she gets elected she will push hard for the State to provide financial support to cities to create more housing. Yes, sadly, it will be us taxpayers who eventually get it done, letting the property owners, developers, building contractors, and realty marketeers, to go free and not have to suffer any of the burden.

@Gale Johnson, thank you. You called it on several fronts:

1) " I know she's in for a tough battle with a less deserving, but more well funded candidate for the State Assembly. " Absolutel. All the deeo-pocketed lobbyists will be throwing money at Berman regardless of his abilities and qualifications -- which a candidate doesn't need if he/she is just going to vote as directed by his backers.

2) "I never liked the way he behaved and performed on city council. He and Liz Kniss sat next to each other and often whispered in each others ears while a speaker was at the podium. Very rude behavior!"

3) "I also understand her concern about State mandated housing. She is in favor of more housing, and more affordable housing, but only if it's done in the right way."

Absolutely. We've repeatedly heard from Berman's backers that they prefer market rate housing while Lydia supports affordable housing. No surprise since Market Rate is more profitable to developers and serves the needs of high-tech employers with well-paid employees.

4)"If she gets elected she will push hard for the State to provide financial support to cities to create more housing."

Without funding for affordable housing it won't get built and will only serve as sloganeering for the Market Rate crew.

Yup. Rude and again, no need to pay attention or dig into the issues if he/she is just going to vote as directed by his backers.


Now that CA's running a deficit which is growing every month -- not at $32 BILLION -- one may well ask where that money's coming from.

Or one should if one is reality-based and interested in moving forward.

I am writing to express my support for Lydia Kou's run for the state Assembly. I have been following her career for many years and I am impressed by her commitment to public service. She is a strong advocate for her constituents and she is always willing to fight for what she believes in.

I believe that Lydia Kou would be an excellent addition to the state Assembly. She has a proven track record of success and she is a passionate leader. She is also a strong voice for the people of Palo Alto and she will fight to ensure that our needs are met.

Agree w/Online Name that Gale Johnson's comments are on point. Since Gale has stated his age in this forum I add this: we would all be wise to heed his sage observations. He has been around to witness various cycles and numerous types of politicians. I think his opinion is meaningful.

Gale wrote: "but I know she's in for a tough battle with a less deserving, but more well funded candidate for the State Assembly." He's right. So it is the job of voters to not let the Democratic Party or a PAC or some nebulous but powerful cabal strip us of our opportunity to elect who we want in the Assembly. Seats should go to the best person for the job, not the candidate with the most money. At some point we need to STOP letting seats be bought. If we don't, we will have only ourselves to blame for the continuation of the dysfunctional, destructive status quo.

Gale Johnson also commented on how Kniss and Berman would rudely whisper to one another during CC meetings. Right again. Berman usually came across as unprepared; I think he needed to consult with his mentor about what to say and how to vote. It still amazes me that he is in the Assembly instead of Vicki Veenker. Let's get it right this time around and elect Kou. The Assembly needs more women and more independent thinkers.

@GailJohnson. The shame is n mayor Kou. She & former CC members squandered RM Fry’s for a paltry 1.25 acres for low income housing. Kuo and Co want to shackle the poor all together in one heaped zone. Rather than spread us out among commerce, transit, city, school services. Sorely saddened. As a candidates for CC in 2015 she did NOT know what grade separation was? Huh? I say take some seminars in Fair Housing, Public Policy, Government policy. We do not need any more Realtors making decisions for our lives and decline in quality of lives. And of LaComida senior low income lunches at Avenida's . Gone on her watch. Aside from shoveling a few bags of sand during storms (and good on her), I am troubled she seeks higher ground to serve a few and not the many. To hear on surveillance auto plate camera readers. Gate community tactics. Vote like our lives matter. No to Kou for state assembly.

[Post removed; successive comments from same poster are not permitted.]

@Native to the Bay: It appears the latest talking point from Palo Alto Forward is how Kou is a "threat to democracy" because she limited speakers to 1 minute. The reality is it's all part of the approved Council protocol, and many meeting agendas mention that possibility.

"Oral communications shall be limited to three minutes per speaker and will
be limited to a total of thirty minutes for all speakers combined... The
presiding officer may reduce the allowed time to less than two minutes if
necessary to accommodate a larger number of speakers. " (end quotes, see pages 3/4 of the protocol document linked below, or pages 6/7 of the entire pdf document )

That's what happens when one only listens to one's echo chamber. One gets very twisted, extreme views of reality, like "threat to democracy."

It happens on the far right and the far left all the time.

In fact, there is the horseshoe theory that says the extreme left and the extreme right have many similarities, much like the two opposite ends of a horseshoe are actually close to each other. The more one thinks about it and looks for it, the more one sees it. I've been fascinated by it.

Web Link

@Easy8 Kou might have easily said we have x number of speakers therefore I am assigning N number of minutes. Yet she did not. Instead at the threat of an CC over ride vote and far after the staff presentation did Kou submit her mistake. Oh well, she said, there are only 10 public speakers. “I thought” there would be 25. This was 20 or so minutes after the end of the staff presentation. Mayor Kou is not present to the meeting she presided over nor is she in the moment in which she is at the helm of navigating. You see, when a CC Mayor assumes, or thinks without fact or oversight, or investigation is exactly where it goes south. Example: where the Cupertino Council is at. Chaos. “I thought” is not an excuse for facts or investigation. It appears assumptions rule from the Mayor and Co-mayor pulpit on PA Council. Assumptions can quickly de-evolve into other areas like divisions, intolerance, generalizations, marginalization, or prejudice, bigotry. So assuming the the 1 minute rule before all the facts were in was presented and yes an ignorant call which equates to an injustice.

@Easy8 - Kou's "threat to democracy" is not knowing the effing law. It is unconstitutional to force homeless folks into shelters against their will. She also doesn't care about our 4th amendment rights when it comes to police surveillance. How the heck will she litigate who is and isn't a "career criminal?" And, of course, she got butthurt when the ACLU sued us about Foothills Park, saying the plaintiffs were attention-seeking, drama queens, and essentially horrible people.

IMO she may gain some followers with this red meat rhetoric but she can't possibly follow through with actual legislation - she doesn't understand the law well enough to formulate a good law and, if she tries anyway, she will get sued to Kingdom Come.

Lydia Kou will make a fine assembly person and add further diversity to the CA Assembly.

Delighted to read Lydia is running for Assembly! I've never liked Berman. He didn't distinguish himself on Palo Alto City Council and I don't like the housing bills he has voted for. I only voted for him because he was the lesser of two evils. We have a real choice this time!

@ Annette ... It's okay to be a Republican.

She has my vote!!! Wonderful news. She cares about the community and about quality of life. She comes up with reasonable and thoughtful ideas and is not a shill to developers or monied interests.

Berman has no ideas of his own and was in the developer pockets before he even ran for the state Assembly. He cares nothing about his constituency. Lydia is so much better on every level.

Glad to hear Lydia is running. In my interactions with the Council since Covid hit, she has seemed to be both thoughtful and sensible, unlike some other members. Berman much less so.

@Paly02 no kidding. I am aghast at her inadequacy as a CC Mayor. Yet she can hardly contain her elation in such a role. Yet when it comes to public engagement it’s a near shut down to the Democratic process. [Portion removed.] Her gleeful advocacy for more town surveillance, strongest law enforcement and a lack of compassion for us unfortunate is “conservative” and, yes gives me great pause. Her head at the Dias buried in front of her computer screen appears way more important to those in front and beneath her stage. Her questions to city staff, all clearly spelled out in a packet of material before hand, also is a huge worry to civic investment/ leadership. I am truly ashamed of such. As much as when A. Schwartzneger usurped Davis Grey as Governor. I could hardly admit to being a Californian back then, let alone a voter. And, he too recently took a shovel to gravel. The major difference. Gov., Schwartz ‘s wife was an advocate of women & the arts. She made inroads. Where Arnie just made news. I cannot delete from my human brain his “Mr. Universe” in his golden underwear moment in 1977. Not even filling a pothole in Brentwood can erase that or Farah Faucet or Andy Gibb’s county fair $2 posters. Maybe Kou’s distributing sand bags to a CA state/local housing hole mandates will. Climate be damned.

Glad someone is "A longtime Sacramento critic" even though the headline implies this is a bad thing.

Good for Lydia. Better an informed critic than the opposite.

Someone remind me what Mr. Berman has accomplished.

[Portion removed.]

Grade separation is a topic that has no applicability to PA. Grade separation in San Mateo County is next to El Camino in the commercial sectors, is raised high with parking at street level and street crossings in tunnels under the street. Caltrain in PA is next to Alma and residential housing.

Hyperbowl to the max with no logical thought - problem and resolution.
If I was sitting up there and saw a bunch of PAF minions sitting the arena I would give them 1 minute. also - she already knows what they will regurgitate from their command posts- cell phones telling them what to say.

Some people want to be influncers - others want to work a problem with sound alternatives. We can tell who is who.

Of course she's a critic of building more housing, she's a realtor who thrives off an artificially constrained housing supply. Marc Berman supports policies that help everyone, not just upperclass homeowners. Here's to hoping the vast majority of voters will re-elect him.

James is from SU - so much for people from that location that complain about housing. SU has the most open land out there that can be turned into housing. Why Not? They would have to put in a new utility system, a new sewer/drainage system, and be subject ot higher taxation rates for the new housing. And they would have to use Union contractors. Why do people who live on SU property keep looking for an alternative in a densely populated area? And worse complain about it?

James - go to your SU Housing office and complain to them - tell them to build more housing on their land.

Why do the people who are affiliated with the UC system keep floundering of building housing for students at People's ParK? Why aren't those students writing nasty notes.

James, can you be more specific about what policies Berman supports. Thanks.

Re housing, there was an excellent article in last week's New York Times about moving from high-cost NYC to Cleveland, a city with world-class universities, symphonies, art museums etc. The profiled 3 different houses the couple was considered in nice suburbs comparable to Palo Alto and the choiceswere gorgeous 4+ bedroom homes between $450K and $550L on big lots of 1/2 acres and more with a 15-minute commute to downtown.

It reminded me that when I moved her decades ago from NJ that CA house priced added a $0 and halved the lot size to maximize both the density shock and price shock. When I tell friends back east about some of our housing policies, they say "You must be joking" and remind me that the NYC metro area still has 1-acre zoning and some still have 5-acre zoning -- all for 1/3 ir 1/2 of what we pay here.

@James
In fairness, whether there are relatively more or fewer new construction houses doesn't affect a realtor's income here, so that criticism seems unfounded. I, too, would be interested in hearing what you think are Marc Berman's most important/impactful policies.

I am glad to have a certified realtor on the PACC. Look at the comments here and in the legislature - they make up anything they want to get what they want. They work on the assumption that no one knows what the exisiting regulations are - so make up anything to serve up an agenda which has multiple pitfalls for everyone involved.

The one thing of real importance Marc Berman has tackled is VTA reform, badly needed. But he stumbled and gave up. Otherwise he’s done nothing since he’s been in office. He droid-votes however the Leadership tells him to, then makes canned excuses for it to his constituents. His “policy support” has been a couple no-impact symbolism bills and some platitudes about social justice, things which impress naive people who don’t know the difference. ChatGPT could do that too, and cheaper.

Speaking of transportation, Mr Berman couldn't even get an answer to repeated questions about when El Camino was going to be repaved. It took someone calling Joe Simitian's office to get an answer.

" He droid-votes however the Leadership tells him to, then makes canned excuses for it to his constituents."

How apt! That was the impression of the 200+ people whose time he wasted on a long Zoom call where he kept saying he had "too many bills to focus on one" dealing with housing, failed to get answers as promised and them promptly turned around and "droid-voted" as he always intended.

Enlighten me: is "droid-voting" a synonym for absentee voting? That's allowed? If yes, are you saying that Berman, who arguably has one of the easiest jobs in the State of California, doesn't even show up to vote? And if the answer to that is yes, how many other Assembly members do the same? I am hoping that someone in the know on this will post assurances that this is not what is happening.

I could be wrong but I interpreted "droid voting" as automatic voting without independent consideration of the facts but as instructed by one's backers.

@tmp, is that how you meant it?

I'd love to see Bay Area liberals host the homeless (and criminals) in their own homes. It would also be marvelous if they'd sell their homes at circa 2000 prices to ensure "affordable housing" for more deserving and diverse people. After all, virtue signalling is just not enough!

Actually I'd love to see high-density housing put first in the backyards of all the YIMBY's and politicians who are spending so much money suing more 9 Bay Area cities for not filing their housing plans MONTHS after the cities have.

Remember when VC Marc Andreesen got caught sending a letter to Atherton City Council objecting to multi-family housing next to his $16.6M Atherton manse and his hypocrisy made national news because he funds the YIMBYs campaign to put housing in your back yard but NOT in his?

Re the homeless, instead of blaming the liberals, how about blaming all the business lobbyists and companies who spend literally hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying against paying gig workers even minimum wage and to deny them any health benefits.

I know, it's always easier to blame liberals and homeowner when sloganeering than to look at issues more deeply,

Look at these comments - all over the place. Lydia is on top of her game and understands the " New Jersey - Weiner" gang that is doing everything to destroy the the California standard for how housing and cities are planned out to maximize best residential and city planning. In the old days they were called "Carpetbaggers".

Today on the news the Mayor of SF tried to present a news event and she was called out by the people in her city. Stores in her city are fleeing. You either get it or you don"t get it. Total collapse is iminent.