Although two out of three district Woodside Town Council races are uncontested this coming fall, three are seeking the District 2 seat, which encompasses parts of Emerald Hills east of Interstate Highway 280 and borders Huddart Park.

Newcomers Elizabeth Kaske, a business executive, and Steve Lubin, an architect, are challenging council member Brian Dombkowski, who is running for his second term on the government body.

The Town Council, which is currently a seven-member body, will make the move to five members when it switches from the "from-district" to a "by-district" elections system beginning on Nov. 8. A map of the new districts can be found here.

The switch means only two council members will be elected for new four-year terms this year, even though the terms for council members Dick Brown, Dombkowski and Sean Scott are all expiring. Scott now lives in District 1, which will be on the ballot in 2024. He could choose to run then but is not eligible for any of the seats on the ballot this November, according to Town Manager Kevin Bryant.

There will also be a special election for a two-year term this fall to replace the vacancy in District 4 left by council member John Carvell, who resigned on July 1. Former council member Paul Goeld was the only person who filed papers to run for that seat.

The Almanac previously interviewed Dombkowski, who made his decision to run earlier this summer. Dombkowski said he's willing to work hard and bring his institutional knowledge to the council during a transformational time for the town, which is facing increased state housing mandates.

Kaske and Lubin, who more recently filed candidate papers, spoke to The Almanac.

Elizabeth Kaske

Elizabeth Kaske, a partner at the company Ernst and Young, is new to Woodside. She moved to town in 2021 from Menlo Park with her five sons and husband, seeking more space as the family worked and attended school from home during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Kaske said she wants to bring a fresh perspective to the Town Council. She doesn't feel that current council members listen to constituents' concerns. She's also embarrassed by the national attention the town received earlier this year when it declared itself a mountain lion habitat in an attempt to evade a new state housing mandate to allow lot splits.

"The current council doesn't sound like or look like our community," she said, noting she'd like to see more women on the council. Six of its seven current members are men.

In particular, she said she was not pleased with Dombkowski's environmental record.

For example, she disagreed with his decision in 2019 to vote against funding the San Mateo County Flood and Sea Level Rise Resiliency Agency until the budget was cut to $15,000.

Originally from a small town in Minnesota, Kaske said she loves Woodside's rural characteristics.

In regard to planning for state housing mandates, Kaske said the town can't shirk its duties. The town is required to plan for 328 units over the next eight years for its 2023-31 housing element. She would have liked a more detailed housing element plan than the draft the Town Council sent the state this summer, she said. For example, she would like to see housing designated for teachers and seniors.

Like many other residents who spoke out earlier this year, Kaske was opposed to the plan to move from seven to five council members.

"I don't think the research and plan was transparent and thought through enough; a lot of constituents were frustrated with that," she said.

If elected to the council, she said she would focus on improving pedestrian safety and prioritize climate change policy. Kaske, who evacuated her home during the Edgewood Fire in June, said she'd also like to see more leadership around fire mitigation in town.

Kaske currently serves as vice president of the Woodside Elementary School's PTA. She holds an accounting degree from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from Northwestern University.

Steve Lubin

Steve Lubin is a lifelong Woodside resident. He's spent most of his life in town, aside from a stint studying architecture at the University of Oregon and a few years in San Francisco.

Lubin, who lives in Emerald Hills, would like to bring his historical knowledge of town to the council. He and his wife, Thalia, were the architects of the Woodside Community Museum and many new houses and remodels in town.

"Many times council and staff have not been aware of events that happened in the past," he said. "I can fill in that gap. ... The town hasn't been very good at doing planning."

Lubin has been involved in Woodside planning since 1975, serving on the Planning Commission, the Architectural Site Review Board and several town center committees. He's said he is not satisfied with the council's update to the housing element, and that he would have liked to see sites picked at the center of town rather than on the periphery.

"It's backwards," he said. "If we're putting things on edges it's just going to cause more traffic. We have to think of what causes the traffic."

He acknowledged that the rapidly changing world will not pass by Woodside.

"We must envision a future which mitigates climate change, housing inequities and increasing traffic or we will be overrun by changes beyond our control," he said.

He disagrees with the council's decision to designate a portion of Barkley Field for housing and said he'd like the town to have a more active role in preserving it as open space.

Lubin said he wants planning around the town center to be more pedestrian friendly. Measure A, which was passed last fall, opened the door for more outdoor social spaces, which he would support. He'd like to make roads safe and attractive for pedestrians, bicyclists and equestrians, he said.

He's also critical of the shift from seven to five council members.

"I think that really dilutes the voices that are heard in town," he said. "We should try to get the (U.S.) Census Bureau to have census blocks that make more sense with Woodside's population as we look ahead 10 years."