BY AMELIA BISCARDI
Daily Post Staff Writer
No incumbents are seeking re-election to the Menlo Park City Council, but instead of sparking a competitive race with a lot of challengers, only three people have signed up, with only days left for others to decide to run.
Unless more people sign up, that could mean no one challenges current Environmental Quality Commissioner Jeff Schmidt for the District 3 seat, including the Vintage Oaks, Linfield Oaks and Felton Gables neighborhoods. It is currently held by Jen Wolosin, who was elected in 2020.
Library Commissioner Jennifer Wise is running for the District 5 seat held by Maria Doerr, who was appointed in 2023. Former Mayor Catherine Carlton has started the paperwork to run but hasn’t completed it yet, according to the city clerk’s website.
The deadline to file to run for both seats ends Wednesday at 5 p.m.
When Wolosin announced her decision not to run in March, she said she was doing so months in advance so contenders could jump into the ring. When Wolosin was elected in 2020, she ran against Max Fennell and Chelsea Nguyen.
Doerr offered in her announcement to meet with any potential District 5 candidates and discuss the position. So far, no one has filed with the City Clerk’s office to run for the seat.
The two candidates for District 5, the seat that represents the Sharon Heights area, is a far cry from the 13 candidates who initially volunteered for the seat after former Councilman Ray Mueller was elected as a county supervisor.
Here is a quick look at the three candidates so far:
Schmidt, 54 has been living in Menlo Park for about four years with his wife and three teenagers. He works for Stanford in the student life division and has worked for both nonprofits and corporations throughout his career.
Schmidt says his key topics are focusing on the community, moving away from fossil fuels and being considerate about the climate and encouraging youth to become involved in governmental projects.
When asked about the massive proposal for the former Sunset Magazine Headquarters at Willow Road and Middlefield – Schmidt told the Post in April that the proposal was “concerning” but said “it’s hard to tell what’s real” about the project since no formal application had been filed with the city at that point.
Wise, 32, is running because she wants to keep Menlo Park beautiful, which includes a plan to revitalize downtown.
Wise and her husband moved to Menlo Park four years ago and she is running because she wants to preserve Menlo Park’s beauty. She specifically wants to preserve the city’s green spaces along with expanding park access.
Wise is working with fellow city council candidate Schmidt to develop a downtown revitalization plan, the key being listening to business owners.
Wise said one of the big issues she sees is small businesses struggling and lots of vacant buildings downtown.
With the Sunset project, she told the Post she wants to wait and decide further down the road what her stance is.
Carlton, 57, is running for city council again. She has not returned inquiries from the Post about her potential council run.
Carlton, 57, was on council from 2012 until 2020. She has not returned inquiries from the Post about her potential council run.
Carlton currently represents the city on the San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control District’s board. She also applied to fill the District 5 seat when Mueller resigned to join the Board of Supervisors.
When she applied for the seat, she said in her application the three immediate issues the city faced was its housing element, traffic and electrifying buildings.
Carlton’s attendance in meetings towards the end of her serving on the council was an issue. Out of 15 meetings the council had held by June 2019, Carlton was physically absent from seven of them joining via speakerphone.
