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Q&A
Community-based perspective on member deference and council representation
2:54:38
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92 sec
Commissioner Kathryn Wylde asks Michelle de la Uz, as a community-based organization leader, how she responds to council members' arguments that member deference is necessary to represent community interests.
De la Uz suggests comprehensive planning could better balance local and citywide needs, noting that legitimate local concerns often involve infrastructure investment.
For purely parochial opposition, she believes the process must prioritize broader city interests. She adds that extending term limits could potentially help by giving members more time and perspective.
Kathryn Wylde
2:54:38
how would you respond to the were you here when the council members testified about how they're needed to represent the interests of their community?
2:54:47
As a community based organization, how would you respond to them?
2:54:52
How would you counter their concerns that we're if we change the member deference capacity?
Michelle de la Uz
2:55:00
I mean, think I I think that comprehensive planning can do that as well.
2:55:06
Right?
2:55:06
I I think that I I think the biggest issue that most legitimate issue that most council members are trying to represent in the process is investment in infrastructure in some way for their communities.
2:55:19
And that looks different in different communities.
Kathryn Wylde
2:55:21
The ones that are for development.
Annemarie Gray
2:55:22
That's well,
Amanda Farias
2:55:24
yeah, that's right.
Michelle de la Uz
2:55:24
That's why I say legitimate concerns.
2:55:26
Right?
2:55:27
I'm I'm not I'm not talking about,
Kathryn Wylde
2:55:28
like We're talking about the we're we're talking about the other ones.
Michelle de la Uz
2:55:33
Yeah.
2:55:33
Well, I mean, unfortunately, I think that we we need to find a process that balances borough and citywide concerns over the more parochial concerns in that case.
Kathryn Wylde
2:55:43
Do you think the term limits extending the term limits by four years would help that?
Michelle de la Uz
2:55:47
I think it could.
2:55:48
I think that council members or some council members who may not get a ULURP in their district for many, many years, and it you know, the first one may not be all that controversial.
2:55:59
And I mean, you know, we spend I spend a fair amount of time helping council members understand the process and, like, the power that they have and how to wield it early.