Shankar’s Priorities

Hold Utility Companies Accountable

Shankar believes in holding PG&E and internet service providers accountable for frequent outages and service delays. Residents have experienced repeated interruptions, including some homes being without electricity for 3 to 4 days last year. These prolonged outages disrupt daily life and highlight the need for better infrastructure and communication from these companies. Shankar advocates for these providers to explain why these issues occur so frequently and to provide a clear plan to address and prevent them.

Similarly, internet connectivity in Foster City remains inconsistent, with not every household having access to a reliable internet service provider. This lack of options limits residents' ability to work, learn, and stay connected. Shankar insists that this must change to ensure all residents have access to dependable internet services.

Risk Management and Strategic Planning

Foster City’s water and sewage infrastructure is aging, with pipes that are now 50 years old. It’s crucial to identify single points of failure within this system and develop a comprehensive plan for repairing or replacing these pipes to prevent future breakdowns. Recently, the city's only pipeline supplying water broke down, underscoring the urgent need for action.

To safeguard the community's water supply and sewage systems, it is essential to develop a comprehensive plan that identifies, categorizes, and mitigates risks over the long term. This approach will help ensure the infrastructure's reliability and resilience

Ethics and Governance

Four years ago, Foster City successfully recalled a council member for inappropriate conduct, which led to the implementation of a much-needed code of conduct by the city council. However, in 2022, this code of conduct was repealed.

Shankar believes that the council must reinstate the code of conduct. He emphasizes the importance of having solid ethical standards in place, arguing that a code of conduct is essential for guiding decisions and maintaining public trust in local government.

Community Engagement

Since 2018, Shankar has focused on making local politics more accessible to Foster City residents. He has used social media, emails and texts to keep the community informed about council proceedings and to highlight important agenda items ahead of time.

He noticed the impact this informal approach had on the involvement of the people he reached and believes that without this kind of outreach, the city council is missing out on valuable community engagement.

To make council activities more transparent and policies easier for everyone to understand, Shankar will ensure that a short synopsis of each council meeting is posted on the city website and on social media channels.

As a council member, he will hold office hours twice a week, dedicating one hour each session for residents to share their concerns and ask questions.

FAQs

  • Currently, Foster City uses an at-large election system, where all residents vote for all five council members. However, there is a threat of a lawsuit under the California Voting Rights Act if the city does not switch to district-based elections. In a district election system, the city would be divided into five districts, with each district electing its own representative. This model is typically more appropriate for larger cities.

    Foster City, with a population of 33,000, covering just 3.8 square miles and consisting of nine neighborhoods, has no evidence of racially polarized voting. Even if racial polarization existed, do we have racially distinct neighborhoods to justify such a change? Our community is diverse—racially, ethnically, and economically. It's difficult to find even three neighbors with one common trait. Under a district-based system, I would lose the ability to vote for 80% of the council, even though the entire council would make decisions affecting 100% of my life. How is that democratic? What problem are we actually trying to solve?

    If elected, I will work with representatives from other small cities that were forced into district-based elections, as well as with state legislators, to amend the law to exempt small cities from this requirement.

  • The California Constitution allows cities to become charter cities, providing a significant advantage: charter cities have supreme authority over "municipal affairs." This means that a charter city's laws on local matters take precedence over conflicting state laws. In the Bay Area, 25 of the 100 cities are charter cities, and across California, 108 out of 478 cities have adopted a charter. The "home-rule" provision in the State Constitution is based on the idea that cities are better equipped than the state to understand and address their own unique needs. This provision gives charter cities the power to manage their own operations and govern their own affairs, maximizing local control.

    The following Bay Area cities are charter cities – Alameda, Berkeley, Brisbane, Burlingame, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Los Altos, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Oakland, Palo Alto, Pleasanton, Redwood City, Richmond, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Francisco, San Jose, San Leandro, San Mateo, Santa Clara, South San Francisco, Sunnyvale, Vallejo

    I would like to explore the possibility of converting Foster City into a charter city to enhance our local autonomy.

  • Traffic & Safety: Implement efficient solutions to change traffic signal timing dynamically and p rioritize traffic safety, especially around schools.

    Education: Strengthen the partnership with the school board.

    Business Environment: Explore opportunities to bring more retail businesses and restaurants to Foster City.