The Alameda Post and League of Women Voters (LWV) of Alameda jointly hosted a City Council candidate forum on Saturday, September 28, ahead of the upcoming November election. Nearly 150 curious voters filled the social hall at the Mastick Senior Center to learn about the policies, positions, and the individuals running for City Council, including:
- Trish Herrera Spencer, an incumbent City Councilmember running for reelection.
- Thushan Amarasiriwardena, a software product manager and former journalist.
- Greg Boller, a fifth-generation Alamedan with 23 years of experience as a prosecutor.
- Michele Pryor, a special educator and union leader.
- Stephen Slauson, a lifelong Alameda resident who runs an electrical engineering company.
Moderated by LWV of Alameda’s Anne McKereghan, the forum prompted each candidate to take turns answering questions about important issues facing Alameda and its residents.
Infrastructure, climate action, and sea level rise
The topic of climate change loomed large during the forum. Amarasiriwardena, Boller, and Pryor said they would have supported the July 2024 City Council resolution placing a $150 million infrastructure bond on the ballot to address sea level rise associated with climate change and to upgrade infrastructure to meet seismic and building codes and deliver traffic- and safety-related improvements.
“We have climate change that is affecting us already near the Posey Tube and at Bay Farm,” said Amarasiriwardena. “It’s going to cost more actually if we don’t take care of it now.”
The resolution failed to meet the two-thirds majority vote required to pass. Herrera Spencer defended her dissenting vote on Council, stating that the bond lacked specific details on duration and project priority.
Later in the forum, in response to a question on climate resiliency and thoughts on the Climate Action and Resiliency Plan (CARP), Boller called for inviting industry experts to help inform future efforts and Pryor voiced support for a holistic approach that includes nature-based solutions.
Slauson had a different perspective. “This climate change issue is a malarkey issue!” he declared, eliciting gasps and chuckles of disbelief from the crowd. “There’s nothing you can do to cool down the Earth,” he added, as he listed what he claimed were previously debunked climate myths.
See the full City Council candidate forum video.
Housing development, homelessness, and transportation
With 10,000 new housing units slated for construction in Alameda by 2040, Herrera Spencer suggested more opportunities for middle-income residents to purchase homes and Slauson called out the mixed-use development along Clement Avenue as a good example of what needs to be done elsewhere in Alameda to address the regional housing crisis.
Amarasiriwardena and Pryor went further, supporting housing in areas with existing transit and utility infrastructure, including rezoned shopping malls and Alameda’s downtown cores.
“We are going to have to build for density if we are going to create a community for the next generation,” said Pryor. “And it might be a little uncomfortable, but I think it’s what is responsible.”
In a follow-up question, McKereghan noted that the homeless population in Alameda has grown by 73% between 2022 and 2024, despite a 3% dip countywide during the same timeframe. In response, Amarasiriwardena and Boller believed that the issue ties back to housing and warrants the exploration and development of proactive approaches to prevent homelessness. Pryor and Herrera Spencer agreed on the importance of programs like the Alameda Community Assessment Response & Engagement (CARE) Team to offer help and support to those in need.
“I continually check with staff,” said Herrera Spencer. “Do we have enough spaces available and services available to help connect people to the services that they need to try to help them out of homelessness?”
Afterwards, candidates suggested strategies to mitigate the construction impacts from the Oakland Alameda Access Project (OAAP), which would require complete weekend closures, as well as extended 24/7 closures of one lane in both the Posey and Webster Tubes.
Slauson said there was nothing Alamedans could do but take alternate routes and “go with the flow,” while Herrera Spencer emphasized the need to work with the City of Oakland and project partners to expedite the construction process. Amarasiriwardena, Boller, and Pryor encouraged travelers to explore alternative forms of transportation, such as bicycling and taking the Woodstock water shuttle, or riding AC Transit local and Transbay bus service or the San Francisco Bay Ferry.
“But the opportunity in disguise might come from the fact that we get to decide as a city going forward how we’re going to deal with one of the biggest problems we have, which is traffic, right?” said Boller, who sought to look on the positive side.
Other topics discussed during the forum include stances on leasing or selling City-owned properties in Alameda Point, government transparency and ranked choice voting, and public safety.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 5. For up-to-date news on candidates, measures on the ballot, and voting information, visit our Election page. The Board of Education candidate forum previously scheduled to follow the Council candidate forum was postponed because three of the four candidates were unable to attend. A new date for an online forum will be announced soon.
Ken Der is a contributing writer for the Alameda Post. Contact him via [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Ken-Der.
