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League of Women Voters hosts Burlingame council candidate forum; housing, traffic and Bayfront top the agenda
Summary
Seven candidates for three Burlingame City Council districts outlined their priorities at a League of Women Voters forum, focusing on housing production and preservation, traffic and Vision Zero, Bayfront development and climate action.
The League of Women Voters of North and Central San Mateo County and the City of Burlingame hosted a candidate forum, where seven contenders for three district seats made opening remarks, answered voter questions and offered closing statements.
Linda Janssen, a League member who moderated the event, opened with ground rules and logistics and reminded attendees that recordings are being streamed and unedited. She closed the forum with voter information, noting ballots will be mailed Oct. 7 and Election Day is Tuesday, November 5.
Candidates who spoke included incumbents Andrea Papajan (District 1) and Donna Colson (mayor, running in District 4), and challengers Nirmala Bandrappali, Hadia Koury, Rachel Nee, Desiree Thayer and Tony Paul. Themes that emerged across answers were how Burlingame should produce and preserve housing near transit, how to manage traffic and safety through Vision Zero and grade separation, how to guide Bayfront development while planning for sea‑level rise, and how to continue local climate measures such as electrification and EV chargers.
Donna Colson, the mayor, emphasized long‑term projects and fiscal management, citing recent investments such as a new parking garage and the Rollins Road fire station and saying the city has built resilience requirements into Bayfront zoning. “40% of our budget is tied to hotel transit occupancy, and it is all at risk because of sea level rise,” she said, urging resiliency measures tied to development. Andrea Papajan, a current council member, highlighted local parks and the El Camino Rail and Broadway grade‑separation projects as priorities.
On housing, candidates varied in proposals but commonly supported concentrating new units near transit. Colson said the city has collected “15,000,000” in commercial linkage fees that could be used to preserve affordable housing. Desiree Thayer and Hadia Koury urged mixed‑use, transit‑oriented development and workforce housing targeted to teachers and first responders; Andrea Papajan recommended using local funds to support upgrades that keep older units affordable.
Traffic and safety drew repeated attention. Multiple candidates backed Burlingame’s Vision Zero initiative and urged completion of grade separation and the El Camino Real renovation as long‑range steps to reduce collisions and congestion. Tony Paul, a senior Caltrans engineer, framed his candidacy around transportation engineering and said mass transit and park‑and‑ride planning must accompany development.
On climate policy, Andrea Papajan said the city’s Climate Action Plan contains “20 measures” focused on electrification and reducing vehicle miles traveled; candidates also pointed to Peninsula Clean Energy and local projects such as a net‑zero community center as examples.
The forum closed with two‑minute statements and a reminder to consult the League’s Vote411 site for candidate information. The event aimed to give voters side‑by‑side views of where candidates stand on issues that will shape Burlingame’s growth and services.
