San Mateo County is often celebrated for its innovation, quality of life and strong local economy. But beneath the surface, affordability challenges are placing enormous strain on residents and businesses alike. Under state guidelines, even a $109,700 annual salary now qualifies as “low income” in our region. This is a startling reflection of how high the cost of living has become. Many households are spending more than half their income just to keep a roof over their heads.
This isn’t just a housing issue, it is an economic one. The people most affected by these rising costs are not only our neighbors, they are also the workforce that keeps our economy running: our teachers, farmworkers, lab technicians, restaurant employees and countless others.
Recent changes in California’s energy policies, while well-intentioned in their environmental goals, risk placing additional cost burdens on these very workers and the industries that employ them. On July 1, the state implemented a higher gas excise tax and revised the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. These changes coupled with decisions by the federal government are resulting in further cost increases from the gas station, to the grocery store and to the dinner table for families; and cost increases across the board for businesses of all sizes.
For many small businesses and low-income workers, replacing gas-powered vehicles with EVs is not a viable solution. Most can’t afford to replace vehicles before they reach the end of their service life. And, despite improvements, charging infrastructure does not adequately support long-haul drives such as getting produce from farms to consumers.
At the same time, California is preparing for the closure of two major oil refineries, which will reduce the state’s refining capacity by nearly 20%. Without sufficient in-state production or robust alternative infrastructure in place, we’re likely to see greater reliance on imported fuel which is both an expensive and environmentally counterproductive outcome.
And yet, we are not without progress. San Mateo County has long been a leader in sustainability and clean energy. From all-electric municipal buildings and workforce housing to the investments made by Peninsula Clean Energy in EV infrastructure and building electrification, our region has shown what a cleaner future can look like.
But leadership at the local level needs to be matched by pragmatism at the state level. We must ensure that climate policies account for their full economic impact especially on the most vulnerable residents and critical sectors of our economy.
Transitioning to a zero-emission future is necessary but needs to be thoughtful. A transition must be smart, equitable and economically sustainable. Policymakers in Sacramento must avoid layering new costs on communities already stretched thin, and instead focus on balancing environmental goals with affordability and access.
Together let’s build a transition that is fair. One that accelerates our clean energy future without leaving people behind.
Rosanne Foust is the president & CEO, San Mateo County Economic Development Association (SAMCEDA) and Krystlyn Giedt is the chief executive optimist (CEO), Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce.
(3) comments
A local politician blaming Sacramento for problems she helped to put in place, what else is new?
She is using the typical buzzwords like "affordability, high price of gas, supporting small businesses, low-income, refinery closures, green and renewable energy, transportation cost, ..." and then drawing the wrong conclusion: Cheap Gas or expensive EVs.
The correct conclusion? There is absolutely NO mentioning of solutions like Active or Public Transportation.
The reason for this oversight is that San Mateo County and its Chamber of Commerce are completely in charge of Active and Public Transportation themselves and they can't blame anyone else for their failures in those topics. They have enough funding, they have all resources, they have a overhead of city and county staff to fix these things. Still, they Rosanne Foust and her friends can't get things done and keep wasting funding.
Basically Rosanne Foust suggests to 'Party like it's 1999' - but she just speaks out what all San Mateo Democrats seem to be thinking.
... meanwhile the fossil fuel industry themselves are switching to wind turbines and taking advantage of cheap, renewable energy.
... just a few thoughts to take with her to the next Progress Seminar held at the Regency Sonoma, where business and politicians will "mingle, away from public scrutiny" in 2026 and probably again to the detriment of voters.
Half Moon Bay Chamber of Commerce has a Chief Executive Optimist? I love that!
Thanks for your guest perspective, Ms. Foust and Ms. Giedt, but you can’t have it both ways. There’s no way to transition to a zero-emission future without additional cost burdens on everyone, directly or indirectly. I wish you good luck in attempting to lower prices for everyone, especially the people most affected, but that would entail making any environmental goal being optional and anyone who wants to save the world can do so, on their own dime. I’d say not many people are doing so. Instead, folks are relying on government money in the form of the green new scam climate industrial complex. I’d say let’s build a transition that is funded by only those who want to transition. We’ve already seen that accelerating to a clean energy future is impossible without leaving people behind.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.