Maria Santos Wants to Fix the Intersection You Hate

Maria Santos has been waiting at the corner of Maple and Third for exactly fourteen minutes when I arrive for our interview. She’s timing the light cycles with her phone, jotting notes in a spiral notebook that’s seen better days. This is what City Council candidates do on Tuesday afternoons, apparently. They stand at problematic intersections and count cars.

“Sixty-seven vehicles ran through after the light turned red last week,” she tells me, flipping through pages of careful tallies. “The city says we can’t afford a longer yellow light, but I’ve done the math on accidents versus infrastructure costs.” Santos immigrated from El Salvador fifteen years ago and now manages the books for three local restaurants, so she knows numbers. She also knows this intersection, having nearly been hit here twice while walking her daughter to Roosevelt Elementary.

Santos is running against incumbent Jim Morrison, who’s held the District 2 seat for eight years. Morrison’s a nice enough guy who shows up to ribbon cuttings and remembers everyone’s names at the farmer’s market. But Santos has something different: she’s actually read every traffic study the city has commissioned since 2019. She can tell you why the bike lane project stalled (budget shortfall of $47,000) and which three businesses on Maple Street are behind on their sidewalk maintenance assessments. When she talks about “data-driven decision making,” she means it literally. Her notebook proves it.

The Ballot Measure That Could Transform Your Commute

Measure C looks boring on paper. “Shall the City authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds not to exceed $8.2 million for transportation infrastructure improvements?” Riveting stuff. But here’s what it actually means: remember that pothole on Elm Street that’s been growing since the Obama administration? The one that’s now large enough to have its own zip code? Measure C would fix it, along with 847 other documented road problems across our twelve neighborhoods.

The measure would add about $84 per year to the property tax bill for a median-priced home. That’s roughly $1.61 per week, or less than a fancy coffee. Public Works Director Tom Chen walked me through the project list last Thursday, and it’s impressively specific. They’re not asking for money to study problems or form committees to consider solutions. They want to repave fourteen miles of roads, install forty-three new LED streetlights, and build actual sidewalks in the River District, where people currently walk in the street because no one thought pedestrians mattered in 1987.

The opposition argument, led by the Taxpayers Alliance, raises fair points about fiscal responsibility. City revenue is down 12% since 2021, and we’re still paying off bonds from the library renovation. But here’s the thing about infrastructure: waiting doesn’t make it cheaper. That $8.2 million covers work that will cost $11.4 million if we wait until 2027, according to the city’s engineering consultant. Sometimes the responsible thing is to spend money before the roof caves in completely.

David Kim Remembers When Parks Were Actually Maintained

David Kim is running for Parks Commission, which sounds like the kind of position people seek when they want to feel important without doing actual work. But Kim has been volunteering to clean up Riverside Park every Saturday morning for three years, armed with trash bags and a concerning knowledge of invasive plant species. He’s the guy who noticed that the drinking fountains haven’t worked since 2020 and that the playground equipment fails basic safety standards.

Kim moved here from Portland in 2019, expecting small-town charm and well-maintained public spaces. Instead, he found parks that are beautiful in theory but neglected in practice. The Parks Department budget has been cut 23% over the past five years, leaving two full-time staff members to maintain 127 acres across six locations. The result is predictable: overgrown trails, broken benches, and a community garden that’s become a monument to good intentions gone wrong.

What sets Kim apart is his actual plan. He’s secured commitments from four local nurseries to donate plants for restoration projects. He’s organized volunteer groups to adopt specific areas of each park. Most importantly, he’s identified $340,000 in available grants from the state and federal government that the city hasn’t bothered to pursue. Kim spent six months learning grant application processes, attending webinars, and building relationships with funding organizations. His opponents have been complaining about budget constraints while doing nothing to expand those budgets.

The Housing Measure Nobody Wants to Talk About

Measure A is the elephant in the voting booth. It would rezone approximately 47 acres near the transit center to allow apartment buildings up to four stories tall. Current zoning restricts the area to single-family homes, which explains why a basic three-bedroom house now costs $890,000 and young families keep moving to counties with longer commutes and lower costs of living.

The Yes on A campaign, led by teacher Jamie Rodriguez and firefighter Mike Torres, focuses on workforce housing. Rodriguez can’t afford to live in the district where she teaches fifth grade. Torres commutes 45 minutes each way because firefighter salaries don’t stretch to local home prices. They’re joined by Sarah Chen, whose adult son moved back in after college because even his engineering salary won’t cover rent anywhere within reasonable distance of his job.

The opposition, organized as Preserve Our Neighborhoods, raises legitimate concerns about traffic, school capacity, and infrastructure strain. Leader Patricia Walsh lives two blocks from the proposed development zone and worries about parking spillover and increased density changing the area’s character. Her arguments aren’t rooted in selfishness but in genuine practical concerns that deserve honest discussion rather than dismissal.

What’s missing from both sides is honest conversation about what kind of community we want to be. The current housing shortage affects everyone, from young teachers to aging residents who can’t afford property taxes on fixed incomes. But rapid change also threatens the stability that makes neighborhoods feel like home. Maybe the answer isn’t choosing sides but finding solutions that address both housing needs and community character.

These candidates and measures are real choices about real problems that affect daily life in tangible ways. Maria Santos will be at the Maple and Third intersection again this Thursday at 5:15 PM if you want to see the traffic data yourself. David Kim leads park cleanup every Saturday at 9 AM. The city council meets the second Tuesday of each month at 7 PM, and they’re legally required to let you speak during public comment. Democracy works best when it’s participatory, and participation starts with showing up.