Careful with her words and taking notes before she speaks, Maria Doerr, 27, is bringing a new voice to the Menlo Park City Council as the youngest sitting council member.
Doerr is a strategy and management consultant for nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies, and graduated from Stanford University with a degree in civil and environmental engineering with a focus on urban environments.
“Even in undergrad, I knew that cities are a place where you have so much opportunity to create change,” Doerr said.
She was sworn in on Jan. 9 after being appointed to replace Ray Mueller’s who resigned his District 5 seat midterm after being elected to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.
Doerr says that change could be brought to Menlo Park by focusing on environmental issues and education to improve the health and wellness of the city and its neighborhoods. Doerr wanted to get involved in her community immediately after moving back to Menlo Park from San Diego, so she started as an English Second Language tutor. Doerr also began volunteering with the Menlo Park Climate Team and sitting in on Environmental Quality Commission meetings.
Through her work, Doerr says she’s been able to work to in cities such as Bogota and Mexico City, as well as in California to uncover the needs of specific communities and bring a variety of voices to the discussion to find what best suits them.
Doerr gave examples such as educational equity, which brings the perspectives of students, families and teachers together to find the best way to support the system; and working with riverside communities to understand the priorities of residents in order to reflect that in decisions that effect them. Doerr says that she hopes to bring this method to District 5 in her term as a City Council member.
Doerr is also in tune to a younger generation trying to make a home in Menlo Park.
“I see my age as a strength that I bring to this role,” Doerr said. “Because I’m connected to a younger generation that is not as well represented in local politics here yet.”
Doerr also says that her perspective as a renter, which reflects 42% of Menlo Park’s population, is an asset, as it adds an underrepresented voice to the City Council.
When it comes to priorities, Doerr says she is focused on affordable housing to benefit both new and existing residents. She also has an eye on safe streets and improved transit systems, particularly increasing the ability of residents to bike throughout their community. Doerr says she is particularly interested in increasing civic engagement, both in District 5 and throughout Menlo Park.
To increase civic engagement, Doerr said that residents need more accessible information and help understanding developments as they are updated. She said there needs to be engagement and encouragement on the part of the city to get residents up to speed who are only recently getting involved in city affairs.
“We’re making these decisions that impact people’s lives, ones where people will feel like they can jump in and have a say,” Doerr said.
She acknowledges that while she represents District 5, which encompasses Sharon Heights, Sand Hill Road and parts of West Menlo Park, her decisions effect the entire city and wants to benefit her community while being cognizant of the effect on other districts and listening to all Menlo Park residents.
Doerr says she’s eager to start work toward electrification of buildings in Menlo Park during her term.
“It’s a really exciting opportunity for our community to think about, ‘How do we create a healthy, sustainable future for all residents,'” Doerr said.
She also wants to address the zoning changes that accompany the housing element, which she says can shape Menlo Park into a “vibrant, community-oriented” space for every resident.
Doerr says that she hopes to see new faces in the crowd at future City Council meetings, and to see residents from the Bayfront to Sharon Heights to create a more united Menlo Park.
“(There is) so much to celebrate together,” Doerr said. “I see vibrance, community gathering spaces … where people feel invited to get to know their neighbors even better, and I see us as a city investing in a sustainable, resilient future.”
Doerr is holding in-person office hours at Woodside Bakery and Cafe at 325 Sharon Park Dr. every Tuesday from 8-9:30 a.m. to meet with residents.
Email Staff Writer Cameron Rebosio at crebosio@almanacnews.com.
