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My approach would involve several strategies to address this issue:

• Incentivizing Mixed-Income Developments: For working families and fixed income households, I would push for policies that incentivize developers with tax breaks or reduced fees for building mixed used retail and housing. My goal is to create communities where middle-class families, as well as lower-income residents, can find entry level and affordable options for sustainable living or as a limited term platform to save for single family housing in the future. This will create a purposeful and achievable path that our city can provide for homeownership and sustainable living.

• Expanding Housing Supply: I would work closely with urban planners and developers to encourage building more homes, including townhomes and apartments, which are often more affordable than single-family homes. Fast-tracking permits for affordable and workforce housing projects would be a priority.

• Supporting Affordable Housing Trusts and Public-Private Partnerships: One of the biggest hurdles to homeownership is a down payment and the lack of knowledge of how to get down payment assistance. I plan to establish an affordable housing trust fund, supported by city revenues and private donations for the purpose of provide financial backing for down payment assistance and housing projects. Partnering with nonprofit organizations and the private sector will create opportunities for middle-income residents to overcome the initial financial hurdles.

To effectively monitor population growth, increased crime, and healthcare needs as a city grows, I plan to employ a data-driven and collaborative approach.

• Population growth: I’ll collect data through demographic reports, census data, and housing permits for analyzing trends. We’ll work with regional planning agencies for better forecasting and infrastructure planning, ensuring that roads, public services, schools, and utilities expand in line with the city’s needs. Lastly, we’ll make sustainable development a high priority, guided by zoning policies and balanced growth between residential, commercial, and green spaces. Our goal is to achieve these objectives while preserving the history and rural charm of our city.

• Crime: I’ll utilize police data and analytics to track and break local crime culture and share data with neighboring cities and counties. I’ll place a strong focus on community policing to help build trust between law enforcement and residents. More specifically, I’ll encourage better outreach to residents and create regular opportunities for residents and law enforcement to meet and deal with specific issues.

• Advanced Healthcare: My plan is to collaborate with healthcare providers and regional agencies to expand medical infrastructure, including hospitals, clinics, and telemedicine services. A hospital with an emergency room is a top priority for me. All of these services must be equipped for our multigenerational and diverse community. And more importantly, they will include services for mental health, chronic disease management and services for the aging and disabled.

As mayor, addressing the growing number of unhoused persons in Elk Grove will be a top priority, focusing on both immediate relief through temporary housing and long-term, permanent solutions.

• Expand Temporary Housing for Immediate Relief: I will continue and expand the availability of emergency shelters to provide immediate and safe spaces for the unhoused. This will include temporary housing options such as hotel\motel voucher programs, especially during extreme weather conditions. Additionally, I will work with nonprofits and state programs to offer transitional housing to help individuals move from the streets to stable environments, where they can access social services, job training, and counseling.

• Develop Permanent Supportive Housing: My plan will emphasize the “Housing First model”, which provides permanent housing without preconditions. This approach focuses on creating affordable, permanent housing units with wraparound services like mental health care, addiction treatment, and job placement assistance to help break the cycle of homelessness. I will also seek to establish public-private partnerships with developers and nonprofits to build more permanent supportive housing, potentially repurposing vacant or underutilized buildings. By leveraging state and federal grants alongside local resources, we can fund these projects more effectively. 

• Address Underlying Causes of Homelessness: I will ensure that mental health services and addiction recovery programs are accessible to the unhoused population. I will ask local law enforcement to develop a process with social workers that is non- threatening and a directed path to public services for recovery and transition to self-sufficiency.

The list is long, but definitely food, art, and music.  We need to have these kinds of events weekly. I'll promote cooking competitions, farm to fork events, and craft shows. I'll also promote weekly food and craft events for micro-businesses. I'm a big fan of cars so car shows would be on the list, too. And how about marathons and a yearly celebration of our city?  Let's get our fitness on. We have to do fun things that acknowledge and respect our city's history and our health, too. And let's not forget about our veterans! They've got stories to tell and there are many things we can do to acknowledge and celebrate their contributions to our country. Got more ideas? Let me know!