Menlo Park picks Jen Wolosin to serve as mayor

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Jen Wolosin, elected to the Menlo Park City Council in 2020, will take over the role of mayor in 2023 following a unanimous vote by the council on Tuesday, Dec. 13. Councilmember Cecilia Taylor will serve as vice mayor.

Wolosin represents District 3, which covers Vintage Oaks, Linfield Oaks and Felton Gables. She got her start in politics as a bike and pedestrian safety advocate, with a focus on students getting to school. Wolosin started the community group Parents for Safe Routes and served on the Transportation Master Plan Oversight and Outreach Committee and Menlo Park’s Safe Routes Task Force.

Wolosin gave credit to her fellow council members who had recently served as mayors in prior terms, saying that navigating the COVID-19 pandemic has been a gargantuan task that others have had to take on.

“There also seems to be a collective, at times hesitant and quiet, emergence out of the darkest days and into the light,” Wolosin said. “As we move towards 2023, I am cautiously optimistic that this year 2023 will be the year we’ve all been working so hard towards.”

She acknowledged that the city is coming out of the isolation of the pandemic, noting the refilling of City Council chambers and the reopening of the Arrillaga Family Gymnastics Center as steps toward reopening the city after the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Wolosin’s tenure as mayor, the City Council will handle the finalization of the housing element update and continue efforts on major pipeline projects such as SRI Parkline and the U.S. Geological Survey’s Menlo Park campus. Looking forward, Wolosin said that she would continue in her efforts to serve the people of Menlo Park.

“I vow to continue to be accessible, seek broad community input, apply my values and work hard to make Menlo Park a welcoming, diverse, and sustainable community for all,” Wolosin said. “I’ll keep at it, and I encourage you to reach out any time to let me know what you think.”