Carrying the flag

A few years ago things didn’t go smoothly, ruffling many feathers, and causing some to question whether the “San Mateo Way,” disagreeing sometimes but never being disagreeable, might be gone. After attending this recent meeting, I can confidently say that the San Mateo Way is on solid ground. The comments shared by the public and each of the councilmembers were lovely and the vision that was shared for the city’s future was inspiring. You can watch the meeting here: youtube.com/@CityofSanMateo. Spoiler Alert: Despite worrying that I would stumble carrying that huge flag I made it all the way down the aisle without a hitch. 

As I waited for the meeting to start, I reminisced about previous times I had sat in that chamber. As my husband and I sat down during one meeting, a woman in front of us turned around to chat, and, lamenting proposals to change REACH codes (city environmental building standards) said “Well, I can tell you one thing for sure, no one is going to take away my gas stove!” While I assured her that if she wasn’t remodeling no one was planning to rip her gas stove out of her kitchen, I did encourage her to reach out to the mayor and councilmembers to voice her concerns.

I also remembered the time the council debated raising the city’s minimum wage and how for most of the meeting I was the only business owner to speak in favor. One other business owner, towards the end of public comments, stood up to say that after hearing the stories of working people and how much a small raise in pay would mean to them, she had changed her mind from being a “no” on the idea to being a “yes.” That meant a lot to me, knowing that folks listening to each other can cause movement in opinions. On the flip side, another business owner cornered me afterwards, poked his finger in my chest, and told me that I would “pay for” what I had said. Kinda scary! The council voted to raise the wage, making me proud of San Mateo for being a leader not just in the state but across the nation.

In my many years of having a small business in San Mateo and now San Carlos, I have found councilmembers, mayors and vice mayors to be very open to hearing from constituents. I’ll never forget the day we opened our shop on South Boulevard, our first brick-and-mortar, and a member of the City Council, Robert Ross, walked in with a pie! He told us he liked introducing himself to new business owners that way and we really liked him and the pie. During our search for a location which we’d planned to share with a nonprofit, San Mateo was one of the only cities on the Peninsula where the zoning allowed for such mixed use on ground-level retail space. City staff told us they’d be happy to have us, which was a welcome change from having been turned down by three other cities.

We christened that building as “The Dove and Olive Works,” since we shared it with an organization that sold Palestinian olive oil as part of their work. It was a sweet space that offered an oasis of peace in a chaotic world. We hope that our spot in San Carlos offers the same. 

Just the other day, San Carlos Mayor Sara McDowell and members of the city’s economic development team came by to say hello and ask how things were going. They were visiting stores and restaurants on San Carlos Avenue and Laurel Street that day. Given that most of the people who serve on city councils have full-time jobs outside of their council work, I am always impressed by how present they can be for their constituents. I think of some of them as “Energizer Bunnies,” with boundless time and energy. I am incredibly proud of and grateful for the people who serve our communities within the county.

Let’s cheer on all of the people who keep our cities running smoothly, and thank them whenever we can, as we celebrate the holidays. Happy Everything! 

Craig Wiesner is the co-owner of Reach And Teach, a book, toy and cultural gift shop on San Carlos Avenue in San Carlos. Follow Craig: craigwiesner.bsky.social.