On the Issues
Creating a Safer City
Public Safety is the largest portion of Newark's budget, so ensuring public safety must be a primary focus for the City Council over the next four years.
Safety Because Of Those Who Keep Us Safe
To have a safe city, we must support our public safety departments in ways that allow them to meet current needs and adapt to tomorrow's challenges. An effective Public Safety Department today requires different tools and resources than when Newark was founded in 1955, and as we look ahead to the coming decades, it will be necessary for the City to ensure that we stay up-to-date and are at the forefront of addressing new and unforeseen challenges.
The City of Newark continues to be well served by the Alameda County Fire Department (ACFD). One benefit of our partnership with ACFD is that it gives us access to more resources to keep our community safe. I am proud that in 2025, we were able to extend the contract with ACFD through 2030 so Newark residents can continue to enjoy the protection provided by ACFD.
Our Police Department has also strengthened over the past four years. Following the disruptions coming out of the COVID pandemic, our Police Department has been able to increase staffing. Over the past four years, we have expanded community engagement programs, including VOLTs, Neighborhood Watch, and Explorers. The City was also able to support a request from the Newark Unified School District to restore the School Resource Officer position at Newark Memorial High School. Unlike a neighboring city, the City of Newark fully funds this position.
Safety from Harmful Substances
I am proud that in 2024, the City Council unanimously adopted a Tobacco Retail License Ordinance and Program to protect young people from the harms of tobacco use. Since the adoption of the ordinance, all retailers of tobacco products or paraphernalia must obtain a City of Newark Tobacco Retail License. If they are caught selling products to underage purchasers or selling illegal products, including flavored products, they could see the revocation of their license.
Safety in Emergencies
In 2025, the City Council updated Newark’s Emergency Operations Plan, an important document that will guide Newark through emergency situations. This work was done in collaboration with the city of Union City to ensure strong regional coordination for emergency response.
A document does not accomplish emergency response by itself; it is done by people. Over the past four years, the Newark Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) has been revitalized and will strengthen our emergency response when it's needed. I will always support Newark CERT while I am on the City Council and hope to see its growth continue over the next four years.
Safety in Infrastructure
Some public safety challenges are best solved through improving infrastructure. Drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians are all safer when clean, well-paved, well-lit, and well-designed roads and sidewalks exist. As a City, we need to ensure that we do not fall behind on maintenance schedules, fail to clear debris, or have areas of town that are not well lit. This is an area where I believe we have improved during my time on the Council. For example, in 2026 alone, we put slurry seal over 65 lane miles of Newark streets. If re-elected, I will continue these efforts to protect our community.
Safety in Public Spaces
We can also increase safety by improving our usage of public space. This is especially true with our parks: a park full of Newark residents having fun is safer than an empty one. To ensure Newark's public safety, our parks must be draws for residents. They need to be clean and have amenities that will bring out Newark residents. A park can be just a field of grass, but it cannot be only that; it needs to be the gathering place of its neighborhood. Neglecting what will bring Newark residents to our parks will create less safe public places.
Our Parks Master Plan envisions new amenities that can attract people to our parks at all times throughout the day, which will keep them safer. The City Council will need to keep these goals in mind over the next four years, as we will not be able to build every planned project at every park. We should prioritize projects that can keep our parks well attended throughout the day; these projects represent both what our community is most excited about, and that excitement that will bring them to our parks and enhance their safety.
The same is true with the Facilities Master Plan that the City Council recently adopted. I support replacing our two older fire stations with new buildings, which have a direct impact on safety.
I believe that every project that connects our community together in a public space will have a public safety benefit. Whether it's recreational spaces like upgrades at the Silliman Activity Center or having a space to learn about services available to them, the more public spaces where Newark residents can gather in community, the safer our City will be.
If re-elected, I will continue to push for these spaces to gather in our community for all of the benefits they bring - including their positive public safety impacts.
Safety and Peace at Railroad Crossings
The City Council has approved creating quiet zones at rail crossings and have set aside funding for their construction. Implementing quiet zones throughout the city will require improvements to 13 at-grade crossings throughout Newark. While I would have preferred the train horns to stop immediately when the City Council voted, the Federal Government requires quiet zones to have these improvements built first to ensure the intersections are safe. If re-elected, I will prioritize getting these improvements built so we can turn the train horns off as soon as possible.
We also do not know what rail service will look like in the future, and as a City, we do not have a lot of control over it. So, we must work to address what we can control: that our at-grade intersections are safe and that Newark residents do not need to be needlessly disrupted by rail service. And, if a Rail Station can be built in Newark, quiet zones will become even more critical. But, even if the status quo with rail service holds over the next decade, these improvements and quiet zones will significantly benefit Newark, and I will support their creation.