Novato has a choice: treat e‑bikes as a nuisance, or manage them as a real part of how our kids and workers get around. E‑bikes can cut school‑zone traffic, reduce emissions, and lower transportation costs for families, especially when they replace short car trips. At the same time, safety concerns are real, which is why Marin’s new pilot law under AB 1778 bans riders under 16 from using Class 2 throttle e‑bikes starting July 1, 2025 and requires helmets for all ages on Class 2 and 3. Novato should lean into Class 1 bikes for youth, tie any local incentives to safety training, and fix the routes we know kids already use, so the safe choice is also the easy one.ins Here

A year ago I cleaned trash near the Binford Road encampment and came home convinced Marin needed a tiny home village. I still believe that. But here is what nobody running for this seat will say plainly: we have spent millions, we have competent providers, and the camps are still there. Binford is still there. The Hamilton Marsh, a wetland we spent $286 million restoring, still has people living in tents in it, told they cannot so much as light a stove. We did not solve homelessness at Lee Gerner Park. We relocated it into a marsh and stopped looking. Novato is better than this, and I will tell you exactly how we fix it.