Election Over—Time to Focus on Palo Alto’s Future

The City of Palo Alto needs to deal with proposed developments that will add high density and more traffic, while the Palo Alto Unified School District Board must figure out the new reality of finances as voters statewide passed Prop 30.

City Council will have two new members. Greg Schmid and Pat Burt were re-elected. They’ll be joined by Liz Kniss, who returns to council from the County Board of Supervisors, and Marc Berman.

The polls were not quite closed when candidates began shifting their focus to the job before them.

Berman’s concerns are “development and traffic.  At least 50% of voters brought up development plans to me” as he campaigned.

Kniss is worried about “infrastructure investments….much has been accomplished. Now we need streets and other issues” addressed. She’s pleased that 101 is being widened. “Things will get better,” she said.

However, ”there’s probably no issue that’s going to hit us harder” than housing and school crowding issues.

School crowding and the school district’s budget are on the minds of voters as well as board members. Melissa Baten Caswell and Camille Townsend were re-elected to the school board. They’ll be joined by Heidi Emberling.

Caswell said Tuesday night, “The thing that resonated most with the community is making schools retain their excellence despite fiscal constraints, despite growing population.”  She said the city and the district need to work together and share resources.

Also on Palo Alto Patch:

Palo Alto Voter Turnout: 57 Percent

'Yes' Votes Prevail on Proposition 30

Palo Alto 2012 Election Results

Wells Fargo Donates $5K to Palo Alto Schools

How to Get Kids Reading: James Patterson's Tips

Don't miss important news Subscribe to our daily newsletter.

 | Like us on Facebook |Blog for us | Follow us on Twitter|