“Leadership. Experience. Wysinger”
Wysinger is running on a four-pronged platform that emphasizes leading economic growth and recovery, prioritizing community safety, supporting housing for all, and expanding El Cerrito’s climate leadership.
1) Support housing for all - An El Cerrito We Can All Call Home For Generations to Come
The opportunity to housing one can afford and remain in it is more than just an opportunity to have a roof over your head. It allows El Cerritans to connect with each other and further strengthen our vibrant community. Just as El Cerrito is a place that you call home today, I will fight to ensure that it can be a home for our future generations.
I will partner with my colleagues on the Council to ensure that we center evidence-based approaches to housing production, preservation of naturally affordable housing, and protection of homeowners and renters alike. I will work to produce housing at all income levels and of all types, especially along corridors and transit hubs like El Cerrito’s BART stations. Along with my colleagues, I will lead the charge in ensuring our community is one we can all call home. And I will work with you to preserve El Cerrito’s unique character and its existing housing stock.
2) Prioritize Community Safety - A Safe El Cerrito for All Public Safety
I will approach public safety with a pragmatic approach inspired by my grandfather and cousin’s experiences as police officers. Our Police Department is tasked with addressing crime and public safety concerns in our city, but we also have to find ways to incorporate our community and innovative solutions for non-criminal activity. Given our budget, we must work to find ways to support our police officers while also accessing available alternative tools at the county level to address non-criminal activity suchs as mental health and lack of housing.
I come from a public service and public safety oriented family, who taught me the importance of building bridges between our community and law enforcement. My grandfather served in the US Army as a pediatric nurse and went on to become a police officer working with incarcerated youth and later joined the Drug Task Force. My younger cousin followed in my grandfather’s footsteps and started his career as an officer with the El Cerrito Police Department before transferring to Richmond Police Department. He served as a member of the gang unit. For both my grandfather and my cousin, it was not only about enforcing the law but supporting folks to become productive citizens.
3) Lead Economic Growth and Recovery - Equitable and Transparent Budgeting for a Vibrant Economy that Works for All
Too many of our residents and local businesses are suffering due to the financial impacts from the pandemic. Many businesses have shuttered and some are barely hanging on. El Cerrito’s fiscal success and recovery is about the success of our local business community and our working families. I will be a proponent of new small businesses and entrepreneurial opportunities to help address commercial vacancies while bringing jobs to El Cerrito. My leadership experiences serving on different boards and organizations have prepared me to make tough decisions while balancing our City’s interests. I will support the appointed Financial Advisory Board and the current Financial Transparency Portal. I will champion an equitable budget process and prioritize fiscal accountability.
My current and recent leadership positions have prepared me to champion an equitable and transparent budgeting process. In my role as San Francisco Pride President, I oversee a $3 - $5 million dollar budget that encourages partnerships and innovative solutions. As part of the Economic Recovery Task Force of the City and County Of San Francisco, I was a part of a committee tasked with producing 41 policy recommendations for reviving the local economy and employment through the COVID-19 recovery. The first three recommendations of the report focused on the local economic stimulus, job connections, and safety. I am prepared to make tough decisions while balancing our City’s interests. (https://www.onesanfrancisco.org/covid-19-recovery).
4) Expand El Cerrito’s Climate Leadership - Growing El Cerrito as a Green, Resilient, and Adaptable City
El Cerrito is known for its beautiful and publicly accessible waterfront and about 20 parks. On the City Council, I will not only work to preserve and expand them, but also partner with youto expand our city’s leadership and ensure that we do our part to combat climate change - one of the greatest existential crises of our time - while adapting for the climate challenges of today and tomorrow. I will work with AC Transit, BART, and regional agencies to ensure that El Cerritans can reliably access multiple public transit options while emphasizing continued investments in bikeable, walkable communities and public electric vehicle charging infrastructure - thereby ensuring we continue to decarbonize our city’s transportation sector.
I will partner with Marin Clean Energy, our local community choice energy joint powers authority, on expanding residential, commercial, and nonprofit access to renewable sources of energy such as solar and battery storage and ensuring that residents can access affordable options for making their homes weatherized and energy efficient. And, using the working relationships I have built over the course of 25 years of service, I will collaborate with our neighboring cities and regional agencies to protect our precious waterfront and ensure that it remains open for the public to enjoy it, while adapting to future sea level rise. And I will ensure that ours continues to be a green El Cerrito, through exploring expansion of our public parks and the planting of new streetfront trees.