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With over 200 days until the Menlo Park City Council election, the first candidate has declared her intention to run.
Charlotte Reed, 31, said she plans to run for the District 4 seat, currently held by Mayor Betsy Nash, representing an area that includes downtown, Allied Arts and parts of central Menlo Park.
Originally from Darien, Connecticut, Reed moved to Menlo Park from New York two years ago but said she has been fond of the city since she was 19. That’s when she started dating her husband, Patrick Reed, a lifelong Menlo Park resident whom she met while attending American University in Washington, D.C.
Reed said she decided to run after seeing community division at a council meeting in January of last year. A controversial proposal to build housing on several downtown parking lots has packed council meetings for more than two years. Several residents and community members launched a ballot measure which will go before voters in November with hopes to block the proposal.
“Our community has really been ripped apart over decisions on the future of our downtown,” Reed said in an exclusive interview shortly after announcing her candidacy. “After going to that meeting, it became very clear to me that we need a leader that can lift our voices to the powers that be and ensure that we have the final say about the future of our community.”
Reed said she’s been involved in local nonprofits, including as a member of the Junior League.
“I’ve always been very passionate about service, especially at the local level. I think local impact is so important,” Reed said.
Reed is also a two-time Grammy-nominated ensemble singer and cantor at St. Raymond Catholic Church in Menlo Park, and is part of two local choirs.
Professionally, Reed works in communications for Klaviyo, an AI-powered marketing platform.
Her views
Affordable housing downtown
Reed said she believes the city needs to build more affordable housing, not just to meet state mandates, but to allow teachers and local workers to live in the city.
She supports the city’s proposal to build over 300 units on city-owned downtown parking lots, but said she respects the public’s right to vote on the issue in the November ballot measure backed by downtown business owners.
If the ballot measure passes, Reed thinks council members must prioritize ensuring the city’s housing element remains in compliance with state law. The downtown housing projects are a part of the city’s plans to meet its obligation to create new housing units at a range of price points.
Reed said she is concerned about the potential to lose local control over development projects if Menlo Park’s housing element becomes non-compliant She said that the proposal for a high-rise mixed-use development at the former Sunset magazine headquarters, which took advantage of the “builders remedy” loophole while Menlo Park didn’t have a compliant housing element, is an example of what happens when the community isn’t united.
“One of my campaign pillars is we need to make sure that we are building smart, intentional housing. The proposed Sunset development is a great example because we didn’t come together as a community a long time ago to build more housing,” Reed said.
Reed said she believes the housing element is a good-faith reflection of feedback from all corners of the Menlo Park community that shared their voices during the process. “We decided on this as a community. We came together, we compromised, and ultimately we agreed upon all aspects of our housing element, which was adopted by the City Council and certified by the state,” she said.
While some have proposed amending the housing element, Reed expressed concerns.
“If the ballot measure passes and we’re not able to develop on the downtown parking lots, we will have to have a conversation about revising the housing element because we will be at risk of not being in compliance,” Reed said. “I think this sometimes gets confused with folks: There is precedent for amending housing elements, but the reason you do that is because your city is not compliant with state housing regulations.”
Uniting the community around downtown
Reed thinks that revitalizing downtown is one of the ways Menlo Park can unite. She proposed the city establishing a downtown commission to help facilitate conversations between the city, residents and business owners.
“What I’ve seen at City Council meetings is that, if there isn’t something specific related to downtown on a City Council agenda, people will have their two or three minutes to address it in public comment. That’s not enough time,” Reed said.
She also wants downtown to be safe and accessible to all residents and said she supports public-private partnerships with programs like Little House to make sure older adults in the community have all of the services they need.
Budgetary challenges
Reed acknowledges that local governments are having to reduce spending. She mentionedThe Almanac’s reporting on budget cuts at the Menlo Park City School District as an example.
While the City Council has no control over schools, Reed said city decisions still have an impact on the district’s funding. She said that building more housing can help increase sales tax revenue to the city and boost enrollment of Menlo Park schools.
While some have argued that higher enrollment will strain district resources, Reed feels that enlarging the community can help bring more resources into the city.
Other positions
Other issues that Reed said were important to her are: allowing seniors to age in place, creating safe bike and pedestrian infrastructure and taking climate action.
Moving forward
Menlo Park City Council elections do not have primaries so Reed and other council candidates for districts 1, 2 and 4 will appear on the November ballot. Reed filed her candidate intention statement with the city clerk on March 18 and filed paperwork to start fundraising.
Her campaign website is charlotteformenlopark.com.
