Introductions

1). Tell us where you’re from, what brought you to Emeryville, and how long you’ve lived in the city.

I grew up in South Florida and moved to the East Bay for work in 2020. As someone who doesn’t like to drive, I was deeply engaged with the Active Transportation Plans for cities in the region and I became familiar with Emeryville’s efforts. After living in Dublin and growing tired of the slow pace of pedestrian and bike safety improvements, my wife and I made the decision to move to Emeryville which already had a track record of delivering safety projects quickly and with high levels of protection. We would like to raise our future children here and it is very important that it is safe for them to walk, bike, and take transit, giving them true freedom of mobility. We have been living in the Park Avenue District of Emeryville for close to two years.

2). What has your involvement with The City of Emeryville been thus far? Have you served on any committees, commissions, panels, HOAs, or other relevant entities within the city?

I am proud to have served on Emeryville’s Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee where I helped develop our objective standards for new developments, provide feedback on our wayfinding program, and shape our 40th Street multimodal project with which I also helped draft letters of support to try and receive grant funding from state and federal sources. I have also been highly engaged with city politics since moving to the city, attending every city council meeting virtually or in person and providing public comments in support of housing and transportation projects. I also have a great relationship with city staff and believe I would be able to collaborate very effectively with them if I have the opportunity to serve on Emeryville City Council.

3). Tell us what you do professionally. What skills and different perspectives would you bring to Emeryville’s City Council that might be currently lacking?

I work as a programmer in the video game industry. The game industry has been going through a rough period these past few years with mass layoffs and studio closures in addition to a history of overworking (or crunch) culture and worker mistreatment. Seeing these issues firsthand has given me a deep appreciation for worker protections and fair labor practices. Outside of work, I am deeply engaged in housing and transportation advocacy groups. This work has left me with deep policy knowledge that I can utilize to help make our city more family friendly in effective and efficient ways. I believe deeply in measuring the success of a city by its outcomes, and I will work closely with my fellow councilmembers to make sure we develop legislation that doesn’t just sound good, but actually achieves positive results.

Qualifications & Priorities

4). By order of priority, what do you see as the top 5 challenges that you’d like to help address in the city during your first term if elected?

1. Housing Affordability – With such a high percentage of the region rent burdened and many faced with housing insecurity and displacement, tackling high housing costs is my highest priority. I plan to tackle this with a mix of zoning and permitting reform to make it easier to build the dense infill housing and affordable housing our city needs and continue to protect our tenants from displacement and rent hikes
2. Transportation Safety and Reliability – I will work so that Emeryville is safe and convenient to traverse without the use of a car. This means working towards better transit reliability and continuing to develop safe, active, and convenient pedestrian and bike infrastructure.
3. Budget Shortfall – The pandemic has shown us that our reliance on taxes from stores, hotels, and the card room can be quite fragile and our overreliance on people from outside the city coming here to work and shop can leave us open to shortfalls like this. We can tackle this in the long term by continuing to increase our population and improving our marketing as a city as a regional destination.
4. Protecting and Promoting Small Businesses – I will work towards a lively and vibrant Emeryville, finding ways to bring life to our many empty storefronts and supporting our existing businesses.
5. Public Safety – Maintaining our quick 911 response times and keeping our police force fully staffed.

5). Emeryville is facing a potential shortfall in the coming budget cycle. The Emeryville Police Department’s budget is the highest in the city. Are you prepared to make cuts to the police force to balance the city’s budget? What other resident amenities or programs are you prepared to cut to fix this shortfall?

Our police force is currently fully staffed and I believe it would be a mistake to cut it to meet our city’s budget. While we can use money from the general fund to hold us over through the budget shortfall, this is not a sustainable source and I believe we should be looking to increase our revenue streams and only make cuts to our residential amenities and services as a last resort. We should continue to promote our city as a regional shopping destination and highlight our dedication to the arts. In addition, we should continue to prioritize residential development as not only a way to tackle the housing crisis, but also as a way to bring a dedicated funding stream to the city.

6). Emeryville’s Art Center has not been prioritized by past leaders and is arguably no closer to being built than it was a decade ago. Is this a priority for you and what can be done to get this to the finish line?

Yes this is a big priority for me, our artist community is part of what makes Emeryville special and unique and I think they deserve a proper home to serve as a celebration of the arts. I have spoken with many artists that have differing visions on the future of this art center, including if the facade of the former warehouse should be preserved or if it should be replaced entirely with a facility better suited to its purpose. I hope with the help of the recently formed committee to look into the arts center, we can pick a direction soon and begin construction. The wait has been far too long.

Ethics & Governing

7). The City recently adopted a version of a Code of Ethics that gives those outside of council almost no tools for fighting corruption in the city. Considering Emeryville’s long history of corruption and the inherent nature of small cities with little oversight, should Emeryville have an independent ethics commission like many other Bay Area Cities?

As a resident that advocated for the code of ethics that was recently adopted by the city, its purpose was not to fight corruption in the city. It was created as there was no means to hold other council members accountable for their behavior during council meetings and this gave them the ability to penalize those who act out of order.

While a slow process, the Fair Political Practices Commission gives the public tools to fight corruption in our government in regards to how money is raised and spent for politicians. I do not believe we need an additional layer of an independent ethics commission, as it would be hard to fill with members of the public in a city that already struggles with citizen participation and take away important staff time during a time when it is very valuable.

8). A free and active press is regarded as an essential pillar of democracy. Our platform promotes transparency in local government and helps hold leaders, like yourself, accountable. Will you commit to supporting a free press by responding to our inquiries even when they are not flattering?

I will make an effort to work with the press, but the clear favoritism of this organization makes me hesitant to collaborate in the future. I have seen multiple councilmembers harshly criticized over small disagreements, but there has been no reporting from any Emeryville based news organization into the active FPPC investigation (#2023-00785) into Councilmember Priforce for allegedly failing to report campaign finances for almost two years. If this was any other council member, it would be talked about endlessly (as it should be). I find this deeply troubling as I think financial transparency is the minimum we should expect from council members, and I feel it signals a lack of credibility in our local news that this story has received no attention. I would love to see a thriving local press that can hold our council accountable, but this means needing to overlook personal grudges and reporting on the important issues that our city cares about.

9). Despite some pressure, the Emeryville Council majority opted to not agendize a “Gaza Ceasefire” resolution as some cities in the Bay Area did. Do you think these symbolic resolutions fit the role of local government and If you were on council at the time, would you have pushed for this?

First, I want to say that I fully support a ceasefire in Gaza. While I don’t believe symbolic resolutions on international politics fits the role of local government, I believe we set a precedent as a city with the resolution on the war in Ukraine and I would have been supportive of a similar resolution on Gaza given time to develop language that addressed the issue in a way that residents would be supportive of.

Housing Affordability

10). Emeryville’s latest 100% affordable housing project came in at nearly one million dollars per unit. Can we ever really satisfy the demand for 100% affordable housing at this price tag and what laws or policies need to change to build more economical 100% affordable housing projects? 

While this case is special as the ground floor is dedicated to providing food services through ECAP, tackling the cost of housing construction is a very important task in order to meet our affordable housing goals. In cities with larger amounts of older housing stock, I believe it is more economical for cities to use affordable housing funds to buy existing housing at a lower price than it would be to construct it, then convert it to deed-restricted affordable housing. This would let the market eat up the expense of modern construction while the city still grows affordable housing stock through acquisition.

For new construction, I am also an advocate for adjusting our building codes to allow building four story apartments and condos with a single stairwell. This has been done with great success in cities like Seattle as this eliminates the need for hallways, making it easier to build 3-4 bedroom homes on dense infill sites at lower costs. The lack of family housing, especially family housing that’s affordable to low income residents makes this a strong element in meeting our housing goals.

I also believe we will see costs drop due to state level bills SB35 and SB423 which streamline the approval of affordable multifamily housing. Long permitting timelines often lead to ballooning costs which require even more funding. On the city level we should continue to cut the red tape that can hold up the housing we need as a city.

11). Emeryville already has tenant protections and the state has an anti-rent gouging law on the books (AB 1482). Are these protections enough and if not, where specifically would you like to see these strengthened?

Currently in Emeryville, Costa-Hawkins greatly restricts our ability to implement rent control on the vast majority of our housing stock. While I have some problems with Prop 33 (as I expand on in question 13), if passed I would be interested in working with the rest of city council to implement rent control that can help prevent displacement of our residents until more widespread housing affordability is achieved by putting downward pressure on rents through housing construction for all income levels.

I would also like to expand on SB 330’s right to return to cover more renters that may face losing housing due to redevelopment by a landlord. SB 330 gives residents the right to return to an affordable unit in a building that is redeveloped, but SB 8 restricted this right to only low income tenants.

12). In 2019, the city explored waiving or amending the required “family friendly” unit mix to encourage more highrise construction in the core of the city which is part of the city’s general plan. Is this something you would support and do you have any caveats?

This is something I would support. Due to high housing costs, many people find it cheaper to find roommates and rent a home with multiple bedrooms when they would prefer to have privacy and their own space. This leaves these people with overcrowded homes and also takes family homes off the market. By building large amounts of one and two bed apartments, we can alleviate this pressure and free up family housing stock for families.

I do support the creation of dedicated family housing as well with larger bedroom counts, but our building codes and laws can often make these infeasible. Despite our family friendly unit mix ordinance, the geometry of the homes that are actually allowed to be built often makes it difficult or impossible to supply 3+ bedroom units where each bedroom has access to light. Other countries, and even cities in America have solved this by allowing single egress point-access blocks in our codes, which have a much more favorable layout to multifamily units on dense infill sites.

I am also supportive of building more ownership opportunities, we have seen ownership condo construction plummet since 2005 after a construction defect liability law passed that made ownership condo units infeasible due to legal risks. I am supportive of efforts at the state level to repeal this and get the ownership family units we need built.

13). Where do you personally align on YIMBYism and do you support their opposition to Prop 33/Rent Control which they say “will likely worsen housing affordability.”

I believe California’s housing crisis is one of the most important issues facing our population today. We have failed as a region and a state to provide the housing we desperately need, and it has led to widespread homelessness and displacement. Housing insecurity disproportionately affects queer people and BIPOC at higher rates, leading to members of these communities being displaced and stuck with longer commutes or forced into overcrowded living arrangements. I am a YIMBY in that I support the construction of housing for all income levels. We simply do not have enough homes in the places people most want to live, especially not homes that are affordable to people with lower incomes.

On Prop 33, I fully support rent control but I believe this bill was designed by someone that does not care about achieving housing affordability. Prop 33 takes the shotgun approach and allows each city to determine its own rent control scheme while preventing the state from having any say in the process. This would be great for a city like Emeryville where I trust our leadership to implement a smart and effective rent control policy that still allows for building housing to support a growing population, but other cities can and will weaponize this to eliminate the construction of affordable housing. If passed, I will support a rent control expansion in Emeryville in a way that will not prevent the construction of housing we need as a city.

Public Safety & Quality of Life

14). Grappling with increasing levels of street homelessness for over a decade, cities are finally starting to aggressively dismantle encampments following the Grants Pass ruling. Where do you stand on this issue? Should those who refuse services be “incentivized” into shelters and rehabilitation programs?

I think the Grants Pass ruling is not going to reduce homelessness in any reasonable way, it will only make lives harder for those already struggling with housing insecurity by continuously shuffling them around to different areas. We should be providing shelters and housing opportunities to the unhoused as living on the street greatly reduces life expectancy. I do not believe that leaving people on the street is compassionate, but criminalizing homelessness is not the solution either. We should be providing mental health services, but those who continually refuse shelter and rehabilitation should be incentivized into these services.

15). A surge in crime in Oakland led Governor Gavin Newsom to deploy the CHP for a “surge operation” that has thus far led to 803 arrests, 81 illegal firearm seizures, and 1641 stolen vehicles recovered. Since then, crime has significantly declined in Oakland and in Emeryville. What do you glean from this in terms of the safety of Emeryville residents?

I appreciate the governor stepping in to help make our communities safer. Emeryville itself has been on a downward trend in terms of crime even before this surge operation, a very small percentage of which is violent crime. Our city mostly suffers from property crime due to the many storefronts and I believe we should be collaborating with neighboring cities to stop theft rings that can greatly impact our business corridors. Our police force responds extremely quickly to calls and does not suffer the same staffing issues as our surrounding cities. Rather than expanding our police further, I believe we should continue to embrace technologies like automatic license plate readers that can help track down repeat offenders.

16). Criminal recidivism in our justice system is a big topic of conversation and many blame “reformer“ DA Pamela Price for being too lenient on repeat offenders. Where do you stand on this and do you support her recall?

I do have problems with our DA Pamela Price, such as her refusal to work with the governor when offered help, but I do not believe that she is solely responsible for crime in this area or that her recall will improve the situation. Public safety is a highly polarizing issue, I personally don’t think increasing penalties matters as much as the likelihood of receiving a penalty in the first place. Prison can often leave people with fewer opportunities in life, which can make them more likely to do more criminal acts in the future. There is also space to redirect people that need it to mental health support services rather than prisons, but we must properly fund this approach rather than pulling money out of safety entirely.

17). In 2023, the city approved the installation of ALPR technology. Do you have any concerns about the use of these surveillance devices and would you support the approval of additional cameras throughout the city?  

I understand residents may have concerns about privacy, but after attending the presentation made to city council it was clear how limited the data collected actually is and restricted it is in the way it can be used. While we should continue proper oversight, I do not think residents should be concerned about privacy. After our trial run with the approved cameras, I would like to see the impact of their use before approving additional cameras. If shown to be effective I would have little issue approving their expansion outside of funding concerns.

Local Business

18). The Biotech/Life Sciences sector is a big source of local jobs is Emeryville and currently struggling with a 37% vacancy rate. Do you see this as an important issue and how can the city help?

I do believe this is an issue, as vacant buildings contribute to blight and lead to less active street spaces due to lower worker volumes as well as less money spent in our community. There is only so much we can do as a city to help support these sectors as these are private businesses functioning in the context of their own industry, but I believe the city should continue to do its part promoting our city as not only a leader in Biotech/Life Sciences, but also as a center for the arts and a destination for work and play. Showing our city as safe and vibrant with active street spaces and thriving local businesses can help build demand for our lab spaces and hopefully reinvigorate this sector in our city.

19). Do you believe that vacant storefronts are an issue in Emeryville and if so, what is your policy prescription for remedying this (if any)?

Yes I do think vacant storefronts are an issue in Emeryville, and I believe there are many ways to remedy this. One major issue is that many of our vacant storefronts are on our loudest and most dangerous streets, making them not very conducive to business. I believe we should continue to create pleasant pedestrian environments that help people feel comfortable along many of these corridors. I also think we can take some learnings from the Public Market and use vacant storefronts to host pop-up shops as a trial run for businesses. Commercial leases are typically at least 10 years which brings a lot of risk both from the leaser and the business. Finding ways to reduce this risk and allow locally owned shops to open will be a priority of mine.

20). Bay Street has been the site of some troubling incidents involving juveniles in the past few years including the 2020 Mass-Looting, a 2021 “melee” that led to the closure of a roller skating rink and 2023’s infamous Mall Brawl where 100s of youth engaged in fighting and uncivil behavior (and there are many more). Is it time to discuss limiting unaccompanied youth at Bay Street as they did recently in the city of Torrance?

No, I feel that is the opposite direction we should be moving as a city. Youth already have few gathering places and we should be working to give them more places where they can hang out without parental supervision, not less. The 2023 event evolved due to the local AMC theater being the only theater in the region that was easily accessible and participating in the 5 dollar movie day. While I wish the theater had more security to plan for this event, I believe it was handled well by our police force and deescalated without too much incident. Using this as an excuse to further limit the places our youth can gather seems needlessly cruel to me, especially since such a proposal would likely not have prevented such an event.

Learn more about Sam on his website or by contacting him via email at sgould4emeryville@gmail.com.

Read our questionnaires for other candidates including Mia Esperanza Brown, Calvin Dillahunty, Sukhdeep Kaur and Matthew Solomon (Incumbent Courtney Welch declined to participate).

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