Vamsi Velagapudi is a first-time candidate running for the Menlo Park City Council, District 2 seat. He is running on a strong climate responsibility and affordable housing platform. His plan if he gets elected includes, but is not limited to: 

• Safer streets for all users—more room to bike and walk, while still making space for those who need to drive.
• Climate leadership, so residents and businesses can get ready for a changing environment, even when the federal government stalls.
• Enriching spaces for the community, so kids, teens, adults, and seniors have places to gather and build community.
• A growing tree canopy, particularly in Belle Haven, which has roughly half the canopy cover of the rest of Menlo Park.

He strongly opposes Measure P, which aims to block development in downtown parking lots, which in turn will restrict building affordable homes. He opposes both the highway expansions proposed in San Mateo County, which is an important issue for us here at 350 Bay Area Action. In his own words, “The 101/92 Direct Connector runs through a San Mateo neighborhood identified as an Equity Priority Community and risks displacing residents and green space for a project that induced-demand research suggests won’t meaningfully reduce congestion. The Phase 3 widening north of I-380 would add auxiliary lanes through South San Francisco communities already disproportionately burdened by air pollution, exactly where the state’s environmental justice priorities say we should be reducing traffic, not inducing more. I’d rather see that funding go toward Caltrain, transbay transit, and grade separations near schools.”

Throughout his career, Vamsi has served in top leadership positions at the intersection of finance, strategy, and technology at Mckinsey, Google, Cisco, and HP and has successfully executed strategic goals