On the Issues

While no city alone can make globally significant progress in addressing climate change, every city must take steps to do what it can. Newark first adopted a Climate Action Plan in January 2010. As we learn more about what we will need to do and best practices, these plans need to be routinely updated in order to protect our community. Over the past four years, the City has worked to update this plan and has brought forward 28 strategies to help address climate change. This includes things like expanding the practice of circular economy principles that promote the reuse, repair, and recycling of goods and materials. These are goals that I also help advance through my role as Newark’s representative on the board of the Alameda County Waste Management Authority and Energy Council (StopWaste). It also includes expanding clean energy generation and use, which has been accomplished through the installation of solar panels in the parking lots at the Civic Center and at the Silliman Center. An important goal that we will need to implement over the next four years will be making non-automobile transportation safer and easier. We can do that by growing our network of protected bike lanes, improving the quality of our sidewalks, and bringing forward restaurants and recreational opportunities to Newark that are close to people’s homes so they will walk rather than drive to another city.

Our updated Climate Action strategies should benefit our community in the decades to come. The planning work we have done should also better position the city to access State and Federal dollars to strategies that are still in planning phases. We will need active, forward-thinking leadership to realize these initiatives and best protect our community, and if re-elected, this will be a primary focus for me.