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Election Day on Nov. 3 will mark the first time Portola Valley Mayor Jeff Aalfs runs for a contested council seat, as well as the first contested council election in town since 2013.
Aalfs, a sustainability professional who was appointed to the Town Council in 2011, is joined on the ballot by challengers Mary Hufty, a former town committee member and retired family physician; Sarah Wernikoff, a Portola Valley School District volunteer with a background in e-commerce and nonprofit management; and Angela Hey, a management consultant who serves on the town’s Bicycle, Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee, according to her website. Councilwoman Ann Wengert is not running for reelection.
A 14-year resident of Portola Valley, Aalfs believes the town’s two biggest concerns are fire safety and housing.
“We’re doing everything we can right now to prepare for the upcoming fire season,” he said. “Last summer we formed a fire preparedness committee that made 35 recommendations that the council accepted. It all got slowed down badly by COVID, but we’ve been doing a lot to make our main roads and emergency exits from town more safe by removing excess vegetation.”
He added that he would like to see the fire code updated to promote more fire-safe construction when people build or renovate housing.
Asked about the proposal from Portola Valley Neighbors United, a newly formed group of residents working to preserve the town’s rural character, to adopt a wildfire prevention and safety ordinance, and establish a public safety officer to enforce it, Aalfs said he doesn’t believe such a position is necessary.
“We have worked very hard to be fiscally responsible, and that means keeping a very lean staff,” he said. “They (Woodside Fire Protection District officials) have the authority to oversee vegetation removal on public and private property. The idea of having a full-time person here, I don’t think it’s necessary at this point. … I don’t think it adds much to the efforts we’re making right now, which are considerable.”
On the housing front, Aalfs said the town will have to determine its response to the housing crisis and state mandates on providing housing. He acknowledged that these two biggest concerns — housing and wildfire safety — are somewhat at odds with each other.
“If we build too much in Portola Valley, there’s concern that we’d create more fire danger, and we’ve always prided ourselves on our rural environment out here and not overdeveloping,” he said. “The tricky question is, how do we do our part with the housing crisis without making it too crowded or losing that rural feel, because it’s an important part of living here.”
The construction of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) has been a big tool in helping the town meet state housing requirements. The town has also developed affiliated housing partners, which are institutions — such as Woodside Priory School — that Portola Valley has agreed to work with if they want to build employee housing on their land. The school has 17 housing units on its property for faculty and staff members and just broke ground on six more, Aalfs said.
“Those have been the staples we’ve gone by in the past, and I hope we can rely on them to some extent,” he said. “I’m hoping our future efforts to provide more housing will look more like our past efforts for the time being.”
Aalfs, who works as a consultant dealing with energy code and green building compliance mostly for residential architectural projects, says the environment has always been one of his passions, and that during his time in office he has “always tried to make sure we’re leading the way in any way we can in addressing things like climate change.”
“Aside from concerns everyone agrees are concerns, fire and housing, I’m always thinking about the environment,” he said.
Asked about the creation of the race and policing council subcommittee and the work that’s been done so far to engage community members around those subjects, he said, “As an affluent white community, I don’t think we’ve had a lot of instances of police brutality, but we have an opportunity to speak out on behalf of other communities, and I think we have a responsibility to do that.”
Aalfs says he values that his fellow council members have been thoughtful and patient as they weigh different issues, and he hopes the new council member(s) will do the same, “as opposed to shouting slogans or throwing rocks.”
He added that trying to lead during the coronavirus pandemic has made 2020 a “stressful year,” but said he still enjoys the work and engaging with the community.
“I’ve done this for nine years and I’ve enjoyed it,” he said. “I don’t see myself doing this forever — this might be my last term — but I think I have more to offer.”
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Can’t think of a better Mayor right now than Jeff. He is a great listener, problem solver and unifier. Had the pleasure to work with him on issues facing my neighborhood and him and his staff were all receptive. Jeff has my endorsement.