Burlingame’s City Council race ends

With Cyr recently dropping out, Peterson, a Burlingame resident of 30 years, was left the winner. He said it is important to give back to the community and also participate in democracy. Over the years he has spent a lot of time volunteering at schools, coaching, citizens advisory board and oversight committees.

“I always felt that it was important to give back but also influence the path forward,” he said.

More recently, he has been involved in raising funds for a new community center and advising entities in Africa through a program at Stanford University, his alma mater.

“It’s kind of who I am, it’s a little bit why I am running, and I want to continue that path,” Stevenson said.

This is the first time the city is conducting an election with specific districts. His is focused in the Lyon Hoag neighborhood, near Washington Park and just north of the San Mateo border. Once a working class neighborhood with cute craftsman style homes, it has seen changes in recent years with home prices rising, larger remodels and some arising parking and traffic issues the city has worked to address.

“Speed controls, with soft cushions, bike lanes and traffic circles are great and I support for the most part,” Stevenson said. “That’s relatively early, so it’s important to look at the results and see how that can be fine tuned.”

Broader transportation issues are related to specific projects, such as the Broadway grade separation, which aims to separate the rail crossing from the road to ease traffic flow and improve safety. Another issue he will be watching is potential changes to Peninsula Avenue, which is being led by the city of San Mateo, but Stevenson said he would like to maintain a working relationship to ensure the project works for both Burlingame and San Mateo residents.

A top issue for all Peninsula cities is housing and planning for more of it as required by the state.

“I don’t necessarily have an opinion on whether the General Plan needs to adjust or not in terms of where the housing is forecasted but I also recognize that there are some mandates that are state driven, that we don’t have control over but we can influence, I advocate a holistic view about this,” Stevenson said.

Other top issues for him are finding creative solutions to affordability, environmental issues and looking to improve the city’s carbon footprint and sustainable mobility.

Stevenson said he was sad to see Cyr drop out but will continue his campaign because he wants people’s voices to be heard and would like to encourage the community to vote.

“I am pretty practical, I like to roll up my sleeves, I tend to want to listen first,” Stevenson said.

Cyr dropped out for personal reasons she didn’t want to disclose. She has been active lately in organizing rallies supporting reproductive choice after the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision repealing Roe v. Wade.

“It became very clear that human rights were something that I needed to start yelling about for the future for my kids,” Cyr said. “I don’t want them to grow up in a world that there are people thought of as less than, whether its by their race, sexual orientation or gender.”

Cyr is a fourth generation Burlingame resident and has seen the city change and grow over the years. She became deeply-rooted in the community when she opened Rachel’s Cakes, and said that during the time she owned the business she felt very connected to the community.

If circumstances were different, Cyr said she would have used her platform to advocate for mental health awareness, human rights, affordable housing, making the city safer for pedestrians and bicyclists, and helping small business owners.

While life events happen whether we are ready or not, Cyr said, “You have not seen the last of me.”

nick@smdailyjournal.com

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