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Occupation: Housing preservation and protection associate
Age: 38
Years living in Mountain View: 8
Top priorities: Housing affordability, climate resilience and civic engagement
It has been nearly two years since Emily Ann Ramos was appointed to the Mountain View City Council. Since then, she has weighed in on some of Mountain View’s most momentous decisions, tackling mandates to build more housing and helping the city recover from the pandemic fallout.
A self-described optimist, Ramos says she is committed to listening to everyone’s perspective and concerns. “I’m here to serve the whole city, and I want to find that win whenever we can,” she said.
On the council, Ramos has come out as a big supporter of housing affordability, backing every project that has come her way, while also advocating for strong housing preservation policies to protect tenants.
Ramos says Mountain View has a good blueprint for building more homes, though there is room for improvement. Part of the issue is that Mountain View is leading with its pro-housing policies and moving into uncharted territory. “We don’t have models we can easily take from in terms of trying to improve better systems, to getting more housing and keeping the housing that we have affordable,” Ramos said.
Ramos also has concerns about the level of affordability for newly built homes in Mountain View. Even below-market rate units are not affordable enough, particularly for low-income families, she said.
Still, Ramos says housing is a need for everyone, and supports policies to help the “missing middle,” moderate income residents who struggle with housing affordability. Economic diversity has always been one of Mountain View’s strengths, Ramos said, adding that she lives in an apartment complex next to single-family homes.
On the issue of upzoning, Ramos says that she is supportive of housing that adds more density, even if it is a townhouse. But she is less happy with the outcome if the townhouse replaces other density options, she said.
Ramos also says the city has big needs and is hopeful Measure G will pass. But if not, then Mountain View could still plan for capital improvement projects and put money towards it to unlock state and federal funding. This has been successfully done for the Rengstorff grade separation project, she said.
Ramos has identified climate resiliency as another high priority and wants the city to expand access to parks and open space. But she opposes increasing park fees on residential developments. It could hinder housing growth, she said, adding that she would be fine with putting fees on commercial developments. Ideally though, money for parks and open space should come from stable sources of funding, like Measure G, Ramos said.
With downtown revitalization, Ramos says the city could do more to implement clear and streamlined permitting to help small businesses, while also noting that this is in the works for next year with a “one-stop” permit review process.
For downtown, Ramos supports a vacancy tax, but does not see this as the first strategy to get empty storefronts occupied. She also favors paid parking but again says other steps can be taken first, like a residential parking permit program. Ramos opposes an office cap, stating that the downtown could use more foot traffic from workers and there are a lot of office vacancies already.
On the issue of policing, Ramos is ambivalent about the use of automatic license plate cameras. Ramos backed the council’s decision to implement a pilot program, but also says that she has concerns about infringements on civil liberties.
“We can’t just go into things, like these abilities of surveillance lightheartedly or easily,” Ramos said, adding that it was a personal issue for her as her parents grew up under martial law in the Philippines. For these reasons, Ramos emphasized the need for accountability.
Ramos says she sees value in the city’s Public Safety Advisory Board, a citizen oversight committee. But it also could be given a bigger role to shape important decisions, she said. “Overall, many of our committees should have a little bit more power to share some of that weight of what we hope to get from them,” she said.
Ramos also expressed concern about the relationship between the city and Mountain View Whisman School District. For Ramos, it has been difficult to understand the school board’s motivations for not signing the three-year Shoreline funding agreement, especially since they requested it, she said. Still, Ramos took a characteristically upbeat view of finding common ground. Both sides care about the students, she said. “And so as long as we focus on that, there’s a way out to get through this.”
More information about Ramos’ policy positions and priorities can be found on her campaign website, https://emilyannramos.com.
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