{"id":24688,"date":"2024-07-13T15:22:36","date_gmt":"2024-07-13T22:22:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/?p=24688"},"modified":"2024-07-13T15:55:09","modified_gmt":"2024-07-13T22:55:09","slug":"needs-of-redwood-city-residents-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/needs-of-redwood-city-residents-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Greater citizen participation: the key to ensuring that the needs of Redwood City residents are heard"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_24689\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-24689\" style=\"width: 583px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-24689\" src=\"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Chris-Sturken-300x225.jpeg\" alt=\"Needs of Redwood City Residents\" width=\"583\" height=\"437\" srcset=\"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Chris-Sturken-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Chris-Sturken-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Chris-Sturken-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Chris-Sturken-16x12.jpeg 16w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Chris-Sturken-150x113.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Chris-Sturken-696x522.jpeg 696w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Chris-Sturken-1068x801.jpeg 1068w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 583px) 100vw, 583px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-24689\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The housing needs of Redwood City residents and the cost of rent in the area have become a top issue for everyone, especially for seniors, families, and frontline workers; however, in order for their concerns to be heard and addressed, greater citizen participation is necessary, regardless of immigration status. Photo: P360<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: For free July 13\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/4Uvyy2MlN0Nc3ktJNRcv8I?si=5dfb4f79c9334fb5&#038;utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The diverse communities that inhabit Redwood City have different priority needs, including housing, and the high cost of rents in the area has become a primary issue for everyone, especially for seniors, families, and frontline workers; however, in order for their concerns to be heard and addressed, greater citizen participation is necessary, regardless of immigration status.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This was stated by Connie Guerrero, from the League of Women Voters of South San Mateo County, and Chris Sturken, Redwood City Councilman for District 2, who spoke in an interview with Manuel Ortiz and Anna Lee Mraz on the program \u201cPor la Libre,\u201d the mobile community radio program of Peninsula 360 Press.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recalling that last Monday, July 8, the San Mateo County Elections Office reported that the rent control resolution proposal in Redwood City, promoted by civil coalitions, was rejected from appearing on the ballot due to not having the required number of signatures, the community can still participate in the City Council meetings and make their needs known.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During her participation, Connie Guerrero said that, although these civil coalitions obtained 93 percent of the required signatures, it was not enough. However, she said, we must know why they were not enough, how we can participate so that something like this does not happen again, and what are the things that are preventing us from actually passing these measures.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe need to work with the council members, we want people to participate in the community, to participate with their ideas, maybe to go and talk to the council members and see who the leaders of their community are, and to make sure that they know what their concerns are, such as rent control, housing, support for small businesses, schools, parks, and libraries, among many other issues,\u201d he stressed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He also stressed that the community needs representatives who truly understand them. \u201cVote for the people you think will do the best job for our community,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of the people who suffer from high housing costs do not necessarily have the option to vote, but since these are homes owned by large corporations, it is a problem that affects everyone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To achieve this, community participation is undeniable, said Manuel Ortiz, who, while agreeing that it is correct for residents to attend council meetings, it is also necessary for council members to go to where the people are, such as shops and churches, among others.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In that sense, the councilor <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CSturken\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chris Sturken<\/a>, who attended the live session broadcast from the Ch\u00e1vez Supermarket in Redwood City, called on residents to share their concerns on city issues via email at <\/span><a href=\"mailto:csturken@redwoodcity.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">csturken@redwoodcity.org<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or by phone at 650 454 7907.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_24693\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-24693\" style=\"width: 502px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-24693\" src=\"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Connie-Guerrero-300x225.jpeg\" alt=\"Needs of Redwood City Residents\" width=\"502\" height=\"376\" srcset=\"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Connie-Guerrero-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Connie-Guerrero-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Connie-Guerrero-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Connie-Guerrero-16x12.jpeg 16w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Connie-Guerrero-150x113.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Connie-Guerrero-696x522.jpeg 696w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Connie-Guerrero-1068x801.jpeg 1068w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 502px) 100vw, 502px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-24693\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Connie Guerrero explained the importance of bringing council members closer to the people, and a great option, she said, is through this program of Peninsula 360 Press, as well as to city representatives. Photo: P360P<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI invite the Redwood City Administration to come and sit down and talk with us about the needs of the community. I say that Redwood City is doing an &#039;OK&#039; job when it comes to communication, but it&#039;s not great. There is a lot that the city needs to improve in order to reach our communities,\u201d he stressed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And, he said, communication goes far beyond a message on social media or an email or a newsletter, which one must subscribe to, \u201cthat is why I invite the city to work more with us to reach our communities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this regard, Sturken highlighted that there are also City Commissions where residents can participate, and you do not need to be a citizen to collaborate in them, the only requirement is that you must be over 16 years of age.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis is voluntary, and it is important to participate in them, because that is where you will learn about the different issues that the city has, and that is where you can give ideas on how to improve things. It is very important to check when there is a position for the different commissions and that people can participate,\u201d Guerrero said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sturken, who decided to run for Redwood City Council and was elected in 2022, stressed that everyone deserves affordable housing because \u201ceveryone deserves a place to call home.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since 2016, Chris has worked in politics, especially in the protection of property owners and rent control in San Mateo, where it was not achieved due to pressure from real estate groups that did not want the initiative to pass, however, he continued with this work on the Peninsula.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He said he was motivated and moved by stories he heard from people struggling to find a home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Running for Redwood City Council, Sturken was one of three candidates, and he only won by 50 votes, so he said the people&#039;s vote is extremely important.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chris Sturken is familiar with the housing problem and its high costs, as he said there are many homeless people in the area.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThere are a lot of people in my district who are homeless, so it is very important that we protect the community by lowering rents and building more housing. On the Council I am working very hard to build and approve more housing, as well as greater protections for tenants like myself, those are the issues in my district,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>You may be interested in:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/rent-control-in-redwood-city-2\/\">\u201cThe fight is not over!\u201d: Options explored as vote against rent control proposal in Redwood City is on ballot<\/a><\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Las diversas comunidades que habitan Redwood City tienen diferentes necesidades prioritarias, entre ellas la vivienda, y lo costoso de las rentas en el \u00e1rea se ha vuelto un tema primordial para todos, especialmente para los adultos mayores, familias y trabajadores de primera l\u00ednea; sin embargo, para que sus preocupaciones sean escuchadas y atendidas es necesaria [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":24689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-24688","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-community","8":"category-cover"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24688"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24688\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24698,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24688\/revisions\/24698"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}