When it comes to Palo Alto council endorsements, not all carry equal weight

Candidates running for Palo Alto City Council almost always profess nonpartisanship, yet the vast majority hold liberal values, raising an important question: How do voters tell the difference between what usually amounts to different flavors of Democrats? The answer often lies in a select few policy issues that tend to divide candidates into distinct camps. Historically, this has been housing, which distinguishes the “residentialist” or slow-growth side from the “nonresidentialist” or pro-growth faction. Beyond housing, areas such as climate policy, public safety and transportation also become salient issues for council races; this year, candidates’ approach to addressing the proliferation of RV homelessness on city streets has emerged as a new issue that will likely play a large role, too. Voters may not have time to read each candidates’ policy platform or attend every forum.

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