Belmont incumbents face off in District 4

Residents in District 2, situated between Alameda de las Pulgas and El Camino Real, will decide between Cathy Jordan and Ken Loo.

District 4

Transportation and infrastructure

Both candidates acknowledge transportation-related infrastructure, from street repair to traffic mitigation and public transportation improvements, is a top concern residents regularly cite.

As a member and leader on several regional boards, ranging from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to Silicon Valley Clean Water, Hurt said Belmont and the Peninsula’s collaboration with the rest of the region is critical to achieving transportation and environmental goals, not to mention resource sharing.

“The last 10 years have been really crucial in changing our city, from being an island on the Peninsula to a more integrated part of the region and also different leaders of the council being leaders regionally,” Hurt said.

McCune, an architect, added that residents often bemoan the cities’ road conditions. While it may not be of much consolation to those living on a street without upgrades, he said the city has made progress over the last few years and will continue to do so. Voters passed Measure I in 2016, meant to fund infrastructure projects, and, starting in 2020, a robust street repair program commenced, which saw promising results.

“Belmont ignored its streets for about 30 years, and they just got worse and worse every year,” McCune said. “But starting in 2020, we started this program of street repairs throughout the city, and our scorecard has gone from the second worst in the county to somewhere in the middle of the pack. I used to manage infrastructure like that when I worked for the federal government, and I know we’re going to have to play catch-up for about 10 years to get the streets up into really good condition.”

Budget and economic development

Several Peninsula cities have faced deficits or dipped into reserves this year to balance their budgets, attributable to several factors, including the state’s initial withholding of key funds in light of its own multibillion dollar shortfall. And expenses around city insurance and employee health care premiums have also gone up.

The city was able to maintain a balanced budget amid some uncertainties this fiscal year, but finance staff have reiterated the need to boost and diversify the city’s revenue streams, especially given it collects a much lower amount of general fund revenue compared to similarly-sized cities. That’s reinforced much of the council’s hopes for stronger economic development initiatives.

Stanford University’s planned development on the current Notre Dame de Namur University campus looks like it could be a boon to the city, although it remains in the early stages of development.

Hurt, an attorney who has also served on the council since 2015, said she has been particularly instrumental in moving the project forward, largely due to her experience as a board member on the Chamber of Commerce, as well as the countless connections she’s built volunteering in the community.

“At the start, I’ve made all the relationships. We want to ensure that we keep higher education in Belmont while mitigating impacts, and I’ve leaned into that quite a bit,” Hurt said. “It’s going to be the challenge of the future as well to diversify our revenue sources and maintain those aspects of Belmont that drew us here.”

McCune is currently the CFO of an architecture firm and used to serve on the city’s finance commission years ago. He said he’s proud of the work that’s gone into getting the reserves at a healthier level than they were when he first joined. Transient occupancy tax from hotels is trending in a better position, but more work needs to be done in terms of economic development. While the city has a plan for its state-mandated housing goals, or Regional Housing Needs Allocation, for the 2023-31 cycle, more forward-thinking needs to take place for the next round.

“I’m worried about the next cycle that starts in 2032. I’m afraid we’re going to have used up those relatively easy industrial sites,” McCune said. “In terms of planning, that’s our next challenge. We need to start now, thinking about what we need to do in 2032.”

Parks and open space

The city has long dealt with tension between environmental advocates and other open space users, especially mountain bikers. Cuviello, who initially submitted paperwork for candidacy before dropping out, has brought forth several environmental-related complaints, most recently filing suit over what he considers the park’s alleged disregard for Waterdog Lake Open Space’s wildlife.

McCune, who has also managed over 50 properties across seven states while working for the Tennessee Valley Authority, said Waterdog was never a true nature preserve, always welcoming residents for outdoor activities like hiking. He said he wished the city’s most recent parks plan left room for more pedestrian-only trails and ample park rangers to enforce the rules, but still feels like Waterdog needs to be accessible for multiple uses, as well as being environmentally sensitive.

Cultural diversity

Hurt said that, as the city’s first Black mayor, she feels strongly about celebrating the city’s diversity.

“I was really thankful to emphasize Belmont’s inclusivity and diverse community from many different countries and different ethnic and cultural backgrounds,” she said.

District 2

Youth sports league and field investment

For both Jordan and Loo, investment in the maintenance and access to athletic fields, particularly for youth sports leagues, is a high priority.

In fact, that was Loo’s main motivation to run for council, especially after experiencing roadblocks during his children’s sports seasons. The Contra Costa County firefighter and board member of the Belmont-Redwood Shores Little League cited unfavorable responses from the city over athletic investment inquiries.

“One of the biggest problems that I see in Belmont is just accessibility to the sports fields,” Loo said. “There’s a lot of frustration with the youth sports leagues.”

Jordan, a 25-year Belmont resident who also served on the City Council in 2014, said she would also look into ways to improve athletic fields and knows firsthand how challenging it can be when there is inclement weather or other unforeseen circumstances that get in the way of games.

“It’s not just the athletic fields, but it’s the access to indoor sports that is important to me,” she said.

She added that she will also ensure that agreements with Stanford University over its 30-year development plan properly benefit the community, including Belmont’s student athletes.

Infrastructure and traffic

Loo said that, if elected, he’d dive deeper into mitigating traffic congestion, especially along Ralston Avenue and Sixth Avenue. Timed signal lights, for example, or working with the school districts to stagger school start times could help, he said.

“We’ve asked for traffic studies, and they said they’ve done them. I just think that there’s a better way to improve traffic management around the [Sixth Avenue] corridor all the way down through Alameda, as well as all the way down to Old County Road,” Loo said.

Budget and economic development

Jordan, currently serving as vice president of the Mid-Peninsula Water District, said maintaining fiscal responsibility is a top priority, especially given the city and county’s financial posture. As a previous board member of the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District, she said she understands having to make difficult financial decisions.

“We have to still maintain fiscal responsibility, and I’ve had a lot of experience with that on the school board. We’ve had to look at budget cuts before. It’s not easy, but we can’t spend beyond our means,” she said.

Even if cuts are needed in the short term, though, that shouldn’t preclude elected officials from investing long-term in business, leisure, housing and retail locations, she said. Like Hurt and McCune, Jordan said she is supportive of annexing and developing Harbor Industrial Area further.

“People complain about not having a downtown, and they’re right. … I’d like to continue to have that conversation and put our heads together,” she said. “This opportunity of annexing the HIA gives the city a potential opportunity for more revenue, depending on what they decide is going to go into that area.”

District 4 candidate Arina Merkulova did not respond to multiple requests for comment.