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After several years in the public sphere, Menlo Park City Council member Jen Wolosin has called it a career.
Wolosin announced in her March 31 newsletter that she will not seek council reelection in November, citing “familial and personal considerations” without going into details.
But in an interview with The Almanac on Wednesday, April 17, she elaborated on those considerations. She also reflected back on her time on the council and mulled over what her next role in the community could be down the line.
A big reason behind her decision to step out of the political arena involves health issues of those closest to her.
Her mother has Alzheimer’s disease while some of her friends are battling cancer, she said.
Wolosin also doesn’t want to miss out on her two children’s high school years, she said.
However, leaving the council doesn’t mean completely disengaging from the community and issues impacting residents.
“I’ll be watching and voting and expressing myself,” Wolosin said.
She, her husband and their kids also have no intention of skipping town. “We love it here,” she said. “We have certainly put down roots here.”
Mayor Cecilia Taylor believes Wolosin’s presence will continue to be felt around town after she departs from the council in December.
“Council member Wolosin’s leadership is and always will be invaluable to the city of Menlo Park,” Taylor said. “She is committed, well-researched and thoughtful about policy, direction and inclusion. She is a great colleague.”
Wolosin, 50, was elected to the council in 2020 and led the city as mayor last year. She represents District 3, which includes the Civic Center, Caltrain station and neighborhoods of Vintage Oaks, Linfield Oaks and Felton Gables.
Before her council tenure, she founded the safety-advocacy group Parents for Safe Routes and served on the city’s Transportation Master Plan Oversight and Outreach Committee.
The following has been edited for length, clarity and flow.
The Almanac: How would you describe your four years on the council, and what have you been proud of seeing happen?
Wolosin: Being on council is kind of like being in a relay race. It’s a time to be a steward of the city, taking over for previous council members and then carrying things until the next council members arrive. I’m proud of the race I ran.
I’m particularly proud of the main initiative that I ran on, which is making our streets safer for people of all ages and abilities. I’m really proud of going around town now and seeing just the expansion and improvement of our bike and pedestrian network.
I’m really proud of the housing element, and the work that went into that — to enable more housing at all income levels throughout the city. (The housing element is a state-mandated planning document in which cities have to show how they can accommodate future residential growth.)
I’m really proud of the (city) management team that has been built. I just feel like we have a great team that is very responsive and helpful with council directives and community priorities.
I feel that the city’s on a really good path and I’m leaving it in a good place.
Q: What challenges do you see Menlo Park needing to tackle even after you leave the council?
A: I’m concerned about some of the budget constraints that we’re going to have in future years.
We’re learning about a shortfall from vehicle-license fees, and we have lost our utility-user tax. (A year ago, the San Mateo County Superior Court issued a tentative decision siding with a class-action lawsuit that challenged the city’s collection of the tax.)
Things are just more expensive. So I think that’ll be an ongoing challenge for the city to grapple with in the years to come. But I think every city is grappling with that as well, having enough money to deliver the services that our residents need and expect.
Q: Could you elaborate on why you’re not pursuing reelection?
A: I have a 14-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter, and my 14-year-old is going to high school this year. If I were to serve another term, I would essentially be on the council throughout my kids’ high school careers.
In addition, my parents are getting older. My mom has Alzheimer’s, and I have friends that are being diagnosed with various cancers. I just started doing a lot of thinking about time and how I spend my time.
The council is an amazingly gratifying, interesting, unique opportunity. I’ve loved it in so many ways. It’s also a position where you carry a lot of stress. You kind of always are in the service of the larger community, and your focus is always outward.
Given where my family is right now and where I feel my attentions might need to be, I wanted to be present for that in my life in a way that I didn’t feel would be doable being on the council.
I toyed with the idea of kind of dialing it back on the council, but that’s not who I am. I don’t feel like that’s doing a service to the residents. So I wanted to step aside so that someone who is in the right kind of stage in life to give it their all could come forward.
‘I toyed with the idea of kind of dialing it back on the council, but that’s not who I am.’
-Menlo Park City Council member Jen Wolosin
Q: Could you detail some of your future plans?
A: I don’t really know what my next step is going to be, to be honest. But I find it hard to believe that I’m not going to care about things and have opinions.
That being said, I don’t want to get in the way of those in elected position to forge their own paths and have their own time in that relay race and run their own race.
So I have to figure out what the role of a former council person in Menlo Park is. I am curious myself of what my next move is going to be.
There’s a possibility to go back into some advocacy work. An issue that I’ve been thinking a lot about lately is work in the Jewish community countering growing antisemitism. I love working with, or inspiring, youth.
I definitely need to feel connected to the larger world, to intellectual pursuits, to some form of purpose and productivity. What exactly that will look like I don’t know, but I’m excited to see where it’ll take me.
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Thank you for your service, Councilmember Wolosin! You will be missed.
Jen, thanks for working hard, communicating well, and advocating for our neighborhoods!
Thank you for your service, Jen!