By Braden Cartwright
Daily Post Staff Writer
Katie Causey, a pro-housing and pro-cycling member of the city’s Human Relations Commission, yesterday (March 26) became the first candidate to announce a campaign for Palo Alto City Council.
Causey, 30, said she wants to bring more community events to Palo Alto, like an LGBT+ Pride parade and celebrations on California Avenue for Nowruz, Diwali and Lunar New Year.
Causey, a product of Palo Alto public schools, ran unsuccessfully for school board in 2020.
She describes herself as a “proud member of the LGBT+ community,” and identifies as bisexual.
Council will have four opens seats in November. Mayor Greer Stone and Councilman Pat Burt can run again. Council members Lydia Kou and Greg Tanaka can’t due to term limits.
Burt has filed papers to run. Stone said yesterday that he will have his final decision “within the month.”
Candidates have until Aug. 14 to file papers to run. Causey works as a community organizer for the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition and for Peninsula For Everyone, a nonprofit that advocates for “YIMBY,” or “Yes In My Backyard,” when it comes to housing.
Causey was appointed to the city’s Human Relations Commission in May 2023 after a group of housing advocates sent emails supporting her as a young renter who grew up in Palo Alto.
Causey has a bachelor’s degree in Women’s Studies from George Washington University.
She was a board member for the Palo Alto Renters’ Association, which folded in with the nonprofit Palo Alto Forward last year.
“I’m running because I’ve sat on the phone with parents close to tears as they debated if they should live in their car until their kids graduate,” she said.
Causey said that over 30 people endorsed her, including resident Marie Wolbach, Mountain View council members Emily Ann Ramos and Lucas Ramirez, East Palo Alto Mayor Antonio Lopez, former Redwood City Mayor Giselle Hale and state Board of Equalization member Sally Lieber.
