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Woodside’s mayor for the year, Jenn Wall, says her dedication to Woodside, extensive background in city governance and professional background prepare her to guide the town in the coming year.
While elected to the Town Council in 2020, she said her tenure on the Planning Commission may be much needed to steer Woodside as it faces a key year in planning for housing.
That experience is something she hopes to lean on as the town finalizes its mandatory housing element, an issue other neighboring cities and towns have also found difficult to cross the finish line on.
The first female mayor of Woodside since 2016, Wall laid out her vision to The Almanac for Woodside and what pushed her toward public service and upcoming projects.
On her call to public service
Wall said her problem-solving skills and feel for practical solutions were key in her motivation to seek public office in the community she loves.
“I really invested in (Woodside) as a community and just care a lot about its future. So, in terms of why I became a public servant, in addition to just loving Woodside, I really enjoy problem-solving,” she said.
Wall added that her background working as general counsel for a tech company (Mountain View-based and Alphabet-owned Intrinsic) also gives her added experience with tackling issues big and small.
She said that enthusiasm for hearing feedback from the community and town staff, as well as finding solutions to problems the town of just over 5,100 people faces, is what she thinks will play a role in her public career.
In 2012, Jenn Wall laid down roots in Woodside’s Glens neighborhood, marking the beginning of her journey into public service. Immersing herself in the community’s concerns, she embarked on her civic involvement as a member of the Circulation Commission.
In this role, Wall said she advocated for enhancing safety on public roads, a pivotal experience that led to her joining the Planning Commission.
On what she hopes to achieve during her term
The state-mandated housing element requires the town to plan for 348 units of housing within the next seven years. It is an issue that has recently encountered roadblocks, but Wall says her experience may be the key to solving it.
“I think that’s one of the biggest issues that a lot of the towns in the area are facing right now. We’ve been working on it in earnest for a couple of years now, and I’m optimistic that we will get to an improved housing element hopefully early in 2024,” she added.
Other topics, such as improved safety for routes to schools on Woodside roads, are key goals for Wall, which she said was her initial focus upon joining the council.
She also hopes that communication fused with modern technology can play a key role in serving residents during her term.
“One thing I’m working on with the town is improvements to our town communication. We are going to have software improvement. We’ll be rolling out a new town website in the coming weeks.”
Wall expressed her anticipation for implementing social media as a communication channel. Eager to embrace this modern tool, she envisions its potential to better engage with the Woodside community.
“I’m pleased to report that we have hired the new town engineer, so we’re really looking forward to working closely with him from the public works projects that we’ll be working on and are concluding to the Glens Path Construction.”
The Glens Path project aims to provide a safe sidewalk for pedestrians on Glenwood Avenue, which is notably narrow. The town will also be looking at parking in the Glens, she said.
