Government

In the last Menlo Park City Council election, Betsy Nash made the leap from Council watcher to Council member, winning a seat in District 4 with 55% of the vote. With that came a change in perspective.

“When you’re not on the Council, it’s easy to take a deep dive on a single issue,” she said. “But being on the Council you need to have a much broader perspective on things. I’m working hard to understand all the various scenarios and issues Menlo Park is facing.”

Betsy was born in Menlo Park, raised her children here, and has been a Santa Cruz Avenue resident for over 30 years. She ran on a platform that included making the city’s streets safer, tackling the jobs/housing imbalance, and focusing on community benefits, “putting our residents first.”

“I’m watchful over development and see [lack of] housing as the crux of what’s going on,” she said. “Menlo Park is growing so I believe we need to build some housing downtown. Be denser but do so in a Menlo Park way. Open space is essential; it can’t just be building against building.”

Retired with grown children, Betsy has the luxury of having the time to take a deep dive into the issues. In addition, she has no aspirations for any other office. “Being a council member gives me a public voice,” she said, “the chance to make a positive difference in this wonderful community.

“This is what I wanted to do, and I love it. I worked for along time and then stayed home. Then I became the sandwich generation caring for elder parents. Now I can devote myself to being a council member. I think the possibilities for Menlo Park are amazing!”

Photo by Irene Searles (c) 2019

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