♪♪ Scott: Before becoming West Sacramento mayor, Martha Guerrero served her city for over 15 years, advocating for issues ranging from aging to mental health.

Mayor Guerrero joins us today to talk about her vision for the future of her city.

Mayor Guerrero, after serving as a council member, how is being mayor a different experience, or brings a different vantage point to all of the public service that you've done before?

Martha: Hello, Scott, and it's so wonderful to see you today.

Thank you for having me on today.

Greatly appreciate the time that we're going to be able to spend together so that I can share, uh, the differences that you asked about.

The main difference is partnerships, and one of the strengths that I have in... in-— bringing into, uh, city council is partnerships with the county, um, and the state.

And that's something that I've been advocating for through Bringing California Home funding to address homelessness, an area that we see, statewide, is an emergency, or just, in crisis level.

And Yolo County has delivered significantly, providing resources to West Sacramento this coming year and throughout the last year.

Scott: You know, when you ran for mayor, that had been after all of the service that you, uh, had given on the council, all the service to the community, and you challenged a incumbent mayor at the time, Christopher Cabaldon.

What made you say to yourself, "You know, it's time for a change"?

What was... What was the issue or problem that you were seeking to solve?

Martha: And that... that began when I ran for city council... when I decided that it is time for the people of West Sacramento, for their voices to be heard in city council.

We've had infrastructure areas that were becoming deficient, and we needed investment and dedicated resources to those areas, and I see, now that we have our budget recently approved, that we are accomplishing that mission together on city council.

Scott: When... when you stepped up and you ran for mayor, you brought with you a whole life of experiences, both personal and professional.

Was there any particular experience, or a person that has influenced how it is that you approach public service?

Martha: I think many people have been a significant influence in my role in public service.

Congresswoman Karen Bass, who is now running for mayor, herself, in Los Angeles-— She's been a great influence in being a strong advocate for people who are vulnerable-— for foster children, for example-— when it came time to look at earned income tax credit and making sure that they have a special appropriation, seeing those that are overlooked and making sure that the resources that are there to deliver and serve those people are actually getting to their pocket.

And so, Congressmember Bass has been an... an... an influence in my role on city council.

As a social worker, as well.

So, I do have, um, many mentors, and she's one of 'em.

Scott: And... and I want to talk a little bit about your... your background.

You're a licensed clinical social worker... Martha: That's right.

Scott: ...and that background is one where it is that, um, for most of us, we... we... we tend to perceive the social worker as the person who connects us to the resources that we need.

And you talk a lot about the people.

Uh, tell us a little bit about how that social worker background informs the-— how it is you approach the needs that your people have for the services that West Sacramento can provide.

Martha: Well, first is the fact that when I ran for council, and even serving on the various boards and commissions, is listening to what their interest and needs are and making sure that we access, get-— draw those resources down at the local level, so that it can benefit those individuals who are asking for the... like the mental health services, making sure that we apply for grants that are provided at the state level.

And now, here in West Sacramento, we're tapping those resources and expanding them, improving them.

And that's what I've accomplished over the course of all that time, and it's something that I think is extremely important as... as a leader, is to be able to listen to what the individuals in the community are asking for, and then applying what they are asking for in your policy objectives, in your fiscal implementation.

So, those are some of the things that I feel, um, is incredibly important, as a leader.

Scott: You know, you keep coming back to the people and what the people need.

Was there-— Before you became mayor, did you feel that the people weren't getting the focus?

And if not, who was?

Martha: Well, I got to believe that there are projects in the city that were a priority, and, uh, it's, I think, a challenge sometimes, when you focus on those projects, to really take a look around at-— a broader look, and-— Scott: Help us out here.

If you were to name one or two projects, as an example, what would they be?

Martha: I would say that there are important projects here in the city that, um, had the attention of... of, you know, council, in the past.

It could be public transportation-— in a way, that was not, uh, directly accessing our most vulnerable or most underserved communities.

And... and I think what I'm doing-— Or even, um, access to the Home Run Program, which, I think, we're now expanding it, so those that are underserved are going to be able to access those programs.

Scott: Share... share with us what the Home Run Program is.

Martha: Well, the Home Run Program is a program funded through our Measure E sales tax revenue source, and it provides, um, child, uh, scholarship-— um, children's scholarships for those that are going to college.

It provides an internship program.

It also provides, um, you know, funding to put-— to start a child savings account.

Now, it's a great program.

One of the areas, one of the gaps I noticed when I would go out in the community and asking among those that are at-risk youth-— One of the gaps I noticed is that they were unaware of the program, or it just seemed they didn't qualify for a certain reason.

So, I really pushed hard for these programs to be able to increase availability and access to them.

Scott: So, what I'm trying to get at, Mayor Guerrero, is this-— is that your, uh, election was seen by your supporters as the first part of a sea change in how West Sacramento was governed.

What... what we're trying to understand is what is that sea change going to look like?

How will we know that that change that you were supposed to bring has happened?

Martha: Well, what we have seen in the last year is a significant number of individuals housed.

There were very few avai-— There was few availability of housing options, uh, prior to my leadership.

And now, we've housed about 169 mill-— 169 people in housing, uh, from the last year.

And that-— Scott: How did you do that?

How'd you do that?

Martha: And that's as a result of our relationship with Yolo County, through Project Roomkey and Project Homekey, and also through our community partners who are providing access to home-delivered meals-— so, there's food that is being delivered-— and laundry services through a partnership with Yolo County Children's Alliance.

And that's a... that's a provider that we've cultivated a relationship and helped them to come along and deliver that service.

So, there are partnerships with the county, with the state, with the governor, who came in and, uh, toured one of our Project Homekey sites.

And so, it's these partnerships, for me, that has accomplished the mission of serving the people.

Scott: Hmm.

And beyond, uh, that sort of initiative, which has focused on the most vulnerable from a housing standpoint, what would you consider to be your top three priorities that you're going to be focused on as mayor?

Martha: It will continue to be fiscal prudence.

As we take a look at expenditures here in the city, I would like to make sure that infrastructure needs are taken care of.

Our roads, uh, do ha-— do need a lot of attention.

There are many areas of the city that have not had dedicated revenue sources, and now, we need to make sure that that's implemented in the next year.

We need to continue to cultivate partnerships with Yolo County and California.

And I'm up here in Washington, DC, with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, so that we can draw down federal grants, such as the I Street Bridge, which we have not been successful and-— We are going to continue to work with Caltrans, to be able to draw down the federal funding so that we can build that bridge because we are shovel-ready to get that accomplished.

Those are the things that I see, next year, that we will accomplish, and I'm working with Mayor Steinberg in that effort.

And, also, making sure that, uh, we have transparency in our processes.

So, I...

I am reaching out to our community in providing stakeholder meetings or town halls, and you will see that happen.

My engagement with the community will be strong in the next year, as it has been in the last year.

Scott: Tell us-— You focus on the I Street Bridge.

What is the importance to the replacement of that bridge to the future of West Sacramento?

Martha: Great question, Scott.

The I Street Bridge that is currently in place has been there for 110 years.

Very narrow bridge, unsafe for bikes and pedestrians to be crossing the bridge, cars-— It's very ha-— There's narrow lanes for cars to get through.

So, we need a bridge that is expanded for safe passageway, and we also would like to get the current I Street Bridge redesigned so that it is a bike and pedestrian bridge.

So, we want to be able to expand accessways because we have limited Sacramento River crossings.

And we would like to be able to expand it, not only to ex... expand access through-— with bikes and pedestrians and more-— you... you know, more car lanes, but if there's a... if there's a crisis, if there's a flood-— We want to be able to get out, in case there's an emergency.

Scott: Okay.

You... You came back again to fiscal responsibility and transparency and, sort of, small-d democracy, in terms of involving people.

It sounds like you did not feel that West Sacramento was doing all it could do in the past, in those areas.

Am I... am I wrong in, uh, that perception?

Martha: You are accurate, Scott.

What happened-— For example-— I don't know if you were leading up to this next question, but there is an example.

It is, uh, police reform, and there was an initiative through My Brother's Keeper that the mayor implemented-— Ca-— um, past mayor Cabaldon implemented with, uh, a convening of, uh, individuals, very important, um, individuals who were representative in some way.

But in that convening, there was a decision made on how do we, uh, address, um, through My Brother's Keeper, that-— a couple of the meetings that happened-— how to address police reform.

There was only one meeting on city council to implement an initiative.

In my position as mayor, there have been meetings to implement police reform initiatives, and we are now working with Measures of Justice to create a data portal.

And we are going to work with the community to establish transparency on the interaction with the police department and the community, and we'd like to find out from the community what they would like to see in that data portal and make sure that it is public and accessible.

In addition, we are continuing to implement access to mental health crisis intervention services, which I'm extremely supportive of, which is the initiative that, under Cabaldon, we established, but I want to partner with Yolo County.

Yolo County has the capability of gathering the data and, for me, that was a critical aspect for the success of crisis intervention services in West Sacramento.

Scott: You talked about, um, the work on police reform and how the original initiative got approved, it would seem to me, a bit more quickly than maybe it should have, and how you've done a reset on that.

A lot of mayors across the country, including some that will be at the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting that you're attending-— like Eric Adams, uh, of New York, maybe London Breed of San Francisco, and others-— are not alone in walking backwards from the issue of police reform right now.

It sounds like you're still moving forward.

What is... what is the importance of this issue, now that we have some distance between today and the events of 2020, with, um, all of the issues related to police and community strife?

Martha: Well, Scott, I think that police reform is a process.

It's a process that is not something you take on impulsively, and, um, make a... make an abrupt decision.

It's a process-— and that was part of My Brother's Keeper, as far as how that works-— establishing a process with an outcome to see whether those strategies are effective, and to pivot, if you need to do that, to make modifications if it's not working out.

But to continue to stay engaged with the community, with the public, to establish, you know, an involvement with the police officers and community-oriented policing.

Scott: But Mayor... Mayor Guerrero, you could walk away from this.

A lot of mayors are.

You're not.

Why is this so important to you?

Martha: It's important to the residents of West Sacramento, as a result of the history in parts of our city where there was a gang injunction, and they have felt slighted, not only by what has happened through that gang injunction.

There were members of the community who were not gang members, but they were Hispanic, and that racial profiling, uh, from those members of the community have really carried on to the next generation.

So, it is important for them to feel that they have leadership who's going to pay attention to that, today.

Scott: O.K.

I wanted to ask you-— You, uh, in your day job-— You have two day jobs.

You're the mayor, 24 hours a day.

You also represent Los Angeles County, uh, in the State Capitol.

And I'm curious, how does your representation of a... a... government that's larger, and has a larger economy than most countries does-— How does that inform some of the insights, or... or... or ways that you approach doing your job as a mayor?

Martha: Very good question again, Scott.

I think, what my experience as a legislative representative for Los Angeles County is to thoroughly go through the policy proposals and to apply those skills so that we can take a look at what is happening in West Sacramento, whether it be the budget, you know, the trailer bill language in the budget, to make sure that there are appropriations available through our contracted lobbyist, to make sure that we access those resources, and my ability to be able to understand that and to delegate to our government affairs manager and our contracted lobbyist to a... a... address those areas.

In addition to that, is my experience working on the budget and policy in general, as we look at local government issues, and that relationship with the county.

So, I can tap and know what is important for us to work in collaboration, so that we can makim-— maximize and expand our resource, as far as the fiscal, and take a look at partnerships with other cities in West Sac-— in Yolo County, to be able to, um, expand on those opportunities.

And I think that it is that experience, that local government experience that I've had that is really helping me significantly, as a... as a mayor.

Scott: Let's talk about some of those opportunities, where it is that there might be... might be the ability to bring in additional resources and build on what's already began.

And specifically, what I'm thinking of, Mayor Guerrero, is what is your vision for developing, for instance, the waterfront in West Sacramento and, um, sort of unlocking the promise of all of that space, and the work that you and your colleagues have done over the years in really elevating West Sacramento?

Martha: Well, I do see that we have a lot of work to do in the riverfront.

We've just finished removing tanks that have been there since the beginning of the-— of... of the city's-— uh, when it was incorporated, and taking a look at the planning to re-envision what it is that... that... that-— even the past mayor who did an excellent job, in establishing that pace.

But we need the funding for that.

Even though we have a special, uh, funding source, we still need more money.

It's... it's more expensive than we had anticipated a while back, when we planned on that in the future, to do the construction.

It's almost double the cost.

And so, we are working in... in looking at infill housing development, which is going to provide funding for the water, you know, um, system to-— and for the electricity, for establishing broadband, or building, you know, the... the streets, and to also see what resources that can create affordable housing opportunities in that area.

So, those are some of the opportunities I see in the governor's budget, to be able to tap, so that we can make that vision a reality in West Sacramento.

Scott: You talk about affordable housing and that is a problem, not just in West Sacramento, or within our region proper, but across California, and arguably, all over the nation.

Do you have any models that you're looking at right now to try and pr... provide greater housing opportunity, whether it's a rental, or for, uh, for homeownership for your constituents?

Martha: Yes, we are partnering, um, with The Kind Project.

When we took a look at the approval of The Kind Project, we took a look at modifying the cost to implement that design.

And so, in that partnership, we were able to reduce the cost in the construction of that project-— it's... it's close to the riverfront area-— so that they can be a part of-— Scott: Tell us real quickly, what is The Kind Project?

Martha: So, The Kind Project is going to provide small housing-— uh, like... like, it's going to be a, um, just a-— Scott: Tiny houses?

Martha: No.

No, multi-— It's a-— It's multistory.

It's, um-— but they're very small.

It'll probably be like a... like a 1,000 square footprint and it-— and limited parking, as well.

And that's the other factor... which is why we're trying to build passageways from, you know, the bridges between West Sacramento and Sacramento.

Uh, and so, it provides a small footprint on the housing, makes it affordable, but it also, um, provides more housing, um, for those that are in need in transportation corridor.

So, those individuals can, you know, hop on the bus or use, uh, you know, a bike, you know, from our bike-sharing program.

So, it's... it's an opportunity for us to build something that is going to be accommodating those that, uh, need... need to go to work quickly.

Scott: Mmhmm.

And... And I've got to ask you-— You're the mayor of West Sacramento.

What is it you love most about your city?

Martha: I...

I love spending time with the people.

Uh, I...

I think that, uh, the people have really had, um, just an interest in being able to stay engaged.

It's been really difficult with COVID.

So, I do everything I can to either create an event, you know, be it a-— be a cultural event, work with my council partners, um, who have been doing the same, and just attending all of those, going, too.

You know, we had a VFW-— big old VFW parade.

So excited about how we accomplished that, working together.

Uh, and, uh, just doing things that we can safely gather and stay connected.

It's incredibly important for such a community, who is also a very generous, kindhearted community, um, helping their neighbors in need.

And so, those are a lot of the things that I really love about West Sacramento, is just how it's been around for, you know, many years.

I've bumped into residents who have been around 50 years, proud to tell me how the history was like.

I love to listen to those stories and just see how we can continue to grow a city together, the-— a city they can value and cherish for their, you know, for their children, and my grandchild.

Scott: Mmhmm.

And... and I'm curious-— You know, far too many of us drive through West Sacramento on our way to and from the Bay Area.

What is the rest of our region, and the world, missing out on, if we don't stop into West Sacramento and take a moment to enjoy it?

Martha: Well, they're missing out on some beautiful bike trails that we have built, um, along the port area, and, uh, they can explore that.

I've been hearing how... how-— from others that have now come in-— or go all the way out to Clarksburg on our bike trails or pedestrian trails.

Uh, they're also missing out on beautiful places like the Pheasant Club, owned, you know, by the Palamidessi family-— who, you know, have these homemade, delicious meals-— and many, you know, other cultural, small-business stores who are still there, thriving, even, you know, through the pandemic.

They're missing out on opportunities in shopping in our small business... small businesses.

And so, I think that's... that's what they're missing out on, which I cherish in West Sacramento.

Scott: And as you look forward into the future-— very quickly in our last few moments-— what are the one or two biggest opportunities that you're looking forward to that's going to improve West Sacramento and its quality of life for all?

Martha: I think, uh, we have some significant opportunities in the state budget, um, to provide support for working families, whether it be through childcare, um, earned income tax credit-— something we're going to be continuing to build on at the federal level and that's what I'm asking for here-— so that we can reinvest that money that they are saving, or that money they're getting into our economy.

And I think that's incredibly important for us to succeed.

And we're also going to, you know, continue to build housing, which is going to provide, uh, a golf course, you know, in Southport area.

So, building-— continuing to build amenities, continuing to build our bicycle and pedestrian trails is something that we're going to continue on in the next year, and looking forward to working with the community as we plan those future amenities, plan those together.

Scott: And hopefully, we can check in with you on progress, in the future.

Martha: That would be wonderful, Scott.

I would appreciate that.

Scott: All right, we'll leave it there.

And that's our show.

Thanks to our guest, and thanks to you for watching Studio Sacramento.

I'm Scott Syphax.

See you next time right here on KVIE.

♪♪ ♪♪ Scott Syphax: All episodes of Studio Sacramento, along with other KVIE programs, are available to watch online at kvie.org/video.