The nomination period is over and the following candidates will be on the November ballot. You can click on the names below to read their candidate statements. The Exedra will conduct interviews with each candidate in the coming weeks.
City Council (three openings):
- Betsy Smegal Andersen
- Sunny Bostrom-Fleming
- Jennifer Long
- Bridget McInerney Harris
- Tom Ramsey
- Jeanne Solnordal
School Board (two openings):
According to the Piedmont is Home website (https://www.piedmontishome.org/), “There is no requirement that 587 housing units be built in Piedmont by 2031. The requirement is that the City develop a Housing Element and implement its policies and programs that allow for the construction of 587 housing units in multiple income categories. No owner of privately-owned land or publicly owned land is required to develop their property if it is not in their best interests.”
In this context, Jeanne Solnordal’s statement that “Many voices are
underrepresented, especially those residents who oppose the plan
to add 587 units of affordable housing to Piedmont at a cost of
around $850,000 per unit” is misleading because it does not accurately represent the content of the current plan. Jeanne’s statement also could be misinterpreted as suggesting that the plan would use money from the city budget to support all of the cost of this building. This also would not represent the current plan accurately.
I hope that Jeanne made an honest mistake in her representation of Piedmont’s housing plan, but at the same time, I do not want voters to be mislead by her statement.
Very sincerely and respectfully,
-Chris Krenn