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Webster Lincoln comes from a military family – he grew up in different places like Moffett Field and the Lemoore Naval Air Station, but spent most of his childhood in East Palo Alto.
Lincoln’s grandparents moved to the area in the ’60s and his mother – who was a director of the East Palo Alto Sanitary District in the ’90s – grew up there too.
“Seeing my mom run inspired me to give back,” Lincoln said.
In his third race for East Palo Alto City Council, Lincoln brings an expertise in innovation from working with Genentech and the California Department of Public Health that’s balanced with the need for preservation, stemming from his roots in the city.
Lincoln attended Menlo Atherton High School, like his mother, and went on to attend San Jose State University, receiving his undergrad in psychology, then a master’s in biological science with a concentration in physiology.
While in graduate school, he kept close, working at the Stanford Research Institute in sleep neurobiology research. He continued at other local labs like Merck Research Laboratories before landing at Genentech, he said, working in digital pathology and personalized healthcare.
His most recent job was with the California Department of Public Health, he said, where he helped distribute vaccines. Lincoln is also in the midst of creating a startup called DigPath, which is a digital pathology company looking to provide international access to “world class diagnostic expertise.”
As a tech worker with roots in East Palo Alto, he believes he can reach residents and local tech employees with a specific understanding of public health.
Some of his priorities as a candidate include advocacy for affordable housing, economic development, youth empowerment and independent control over the sanitary district, according to his website.
When asked about current plans to address the need for affordable housing – like the Four Corners Project Proposal, the Emerson Collective’s current East Palo Alto Waterfront Project plan or allocating funds for affordable housing for college graduates – he decided not to answer.
But he is in favor of ideas similar to those found in the plans, including “supporting community land trusts to prevent displacement,” according to his website and hiring local residents to help build new development.
“I think we should also be building housing at all levels of affordability,” Lincoln said, in response to a question about alternative housing plans.
Rather than building more “ultra-low” housing developments, he prioritizes “high-density housing at all levels of affordability,” with opportunities for shopping areas, which he sees more potential for throughout the city.
“When you’re talking about planning these projects, you incorporate small business into that to provide a lot of the local entrepreneurs with opportunities,” he said.
When Amazon arrived, Lincoln said, the jobs and people that came with it didn’t benefit the community, but rather induced traffic and gentrification.
To mitigate traffic, he supports increased public transportation to the Peninsula — but to avoid gentrification, he aims to prioritize keeping existing residents in their homes when developing.
With businesses like Amazon, he would have liked to see community amenities – specifically job opportunities – to come with it, like spaces for local eateries that could serve and employ locals. Other businesses like PGA Tour Superstore, which sells golf ware, doesn’t serve the community either, he said.
The loss of Target, Lincoln said, only exasperates the lack of community resources.
“We have to commute all the way to Mountain View or Redwood City for things we could get at Target here in East Palo Alto,” he said.
In order to protect those resources and encourage retail in East Palo Alto, he believes local law enforcement needs to crack down on stealing, which he says is rampant.
“I think it comes down to public safety,” he said.
In place of Target, Lincoln hopes to see more affordable shopping establishments like Food Maxx or Walmart.
Although the city has now officially moved to assume control over the sanitary district, Lincoln had been heavily involved in protesting the takeover with advocacy group Residents for an Independent Sanitary District.
“The district, I think, is doing its job,” he said. “You know, there’s no sewage in the streets and the rates are the lowest in all of California.”
The takeover, he said, is only to assist developers, when the interest of the ratepayers should be of utmost importance.
“If the directors, the people managing the district, aren’t doing their job, then you can vote for new directors, leave it up to the people,” Lincoln said. “Give them the ability to determine how their sewer is managed.”
In regard to climate change and local environmental issues like air quality, Lincoln prioritizes incentivizing green or solar energy, or building infrastructure for electric vehicles.
All-in-all, Lincoln hopes to see improvements to East Palo Alto, he said, without pushing people out of the picture.
“I take data and I make data-driven decisions,” he said. “I evaluate the evidence. I’m a critical thinker, and at the end of the day, I’m working for them.”
