Election 2026 endorsements
Advocating for a bikeable, walkable city, Bike Menlo Park’s endorsements are based on interviews with all the candidates as well as longtime community members.
Measure P: No
District 1 (Belle Haven): Wonman Lee
District 2 (The Willows): Vamsi Velagapudi
District 4 (Downtown): Charlotte Reed
Menlo Park City School District Board: Sherwin Chen, Maya Herstein, Jed Scolnick
Here’s the reasoning behind each endorsement:
Measure P: No
Every several years, faced with a major development, residents launch a populist effort to try to wrest control from city government. Measure P is the latest, a counterproductive effort that wastes our civic dollars and fritters away our energy by pitting people against each other. Measure P is particularly bad since it puts us into the crosshairs of the state, which has mandates for building housing. Instead, we should be moving forward with important discussions about which of the three proposed developers/developments is best for downtown.
Like 2014’s Measure M and 2022’s Measure V, Measure P is billed as pro-democracy, by giving the power to residents to vote on what gets built. But what developer is going to engage with the city knowing that any decision can be canceled by a popular vote? Instead, developers will have the justification to move forward with builder’s remedy projects like 80 Willow Road. Menlo Park needs to collaborate with the state and get the best deal it can from developers, and our elected officials can’t do that if their hands are tied. The downtown parking lots are extremely logical places to build high-density housing, which is critical for reducing our dependency on cars. We hope residents will see this measure for what it is and shut it down as they did with Measure M and Measure V: Vote No on Measure P.
Wonman Lee, a software engineer; and James Rohr, a semi-retired cybersecurity expert, are running to represent District 1. Incumbent Cecilia Taylor is not seeking a third term. Both candidates have some experience with local politics: Lee has served on the city’s Parks and Recs Commission for the last three years, while Rohr has been attending meetings of Belle Haven organizations nearly every Thursday for the last two years.
Lee, who moved to Belle Haven in 2020, also has significant professional experience in politics. He worked for two senators in Washington D.C. for eight years. Lee has young kids, age 4 and 1, who attend Belle Haven Elementary and the on-site day care, and his wife is a physician who works in East Palo Alto. “We absolutely love living here,” says Lee. “We have a brand-new community center and a brand-new elementary school. So there’s been a ton of investment in the community. I think District 1 is on the precipice of something great.”
Lee used a bicycle as his primary form of transportation in D.C., and knows the risks. In college, he was hit by a driver who ran a red light, and had to go through years of physical therapy. For District 1, he’d like the city to invest in fully separated bike lanes for the proposed redesign of Willow Road in order to get the maximum grant money. He’d also like to see a more robust safe route between the 101 pedestrian bridge and Belle Haven Elementary School. Notes Lee: “It’s not just tech workers that are using the route. Families are putting their kids on bicycles because Willow Road is so congested.”
Rohr moved to Belle Haven in 2022 and has a military background. Rohr recently got an e-bike through the city’s e-bike program and appreciates being able to travel around the city with it. He would like to see more e-bike regulation, especially for school-aged children, and would like to see mandatory helmets on all e-bike users.
With regards to El Camino Real, Lee says that he is “for a continuous path, but I don’t have all the details and don’t know how businesses will be affected.” Rohr sees them as a logical addition: “82 used to be our main highway. There’s no reason why there shouldn’t be a permanent bike lane all the way up to the city.” Both Lee and Rohr are against Measure P, as is Bike Menlo Park.
Both Lee and Rohr have already put in considerable time engaging with the community. But given Lee’s professional background and commission experience, we think he’ll be more able to hit the ground running. We’d love to see Rohr serve on a city commission so that he can continue to advocate for Belle Haven and and become more familiar with the workings of city government.
District 2 (The Willows): Vamsi Velagapudi
Vamsi Velagapudi, a retired McKinsey consultant, is challenging incumbent Drew Combs, an attorney at Meta, who has served on city council for 8 years and is running for a third term.
Combs, who has lived in Menlo Park since 2012, says that people appreciate him for bringing a “pragmatic, logic-centered voice to city council.” “We have some really meaty issues coming to council, including key projects at SRI and USGS, and 80 Willow Road,” he says.
Velagapudi, who moved to Menlo Park in 2018, joined the city’s Finance and Audit Commission in 2025 after serving on the Library Commission, and also sits on the Menlo Park School District’s bond oversight committee, as well as the East Palo Alto Sanitary District Advisory Committee. He is running because he is “itching to make informed decisions on city council.”
Both Velagapudi and Combs are against Measure P (as is Bike Menlo Park). Velagapudi is in favor of bike lanes on El Camino and is enthusiastic about piloting them, since Caltrans is paying for bike lanes as it repaves El Camino. “It’s part of the Grand Boulevard Initiative, there’s extra money to do it, and Menlo Park should play our part,” he says. Meanwhile, Combs voted against the removal of on-street parking on the block of ECR that includes The UPS Store and Namesake Cheesecake. (He does say that he would have supported a ECR bike lane pilot that was recently discussed at council, but city staff said they didn’t have the resources to proceed.) Combs also voted against bike lanes on Middle Ave. because of resident concerns about the loss of on-street parking.
So when bike/ped projects come before council, Combs tends to vote conservatively. He supports the Middle Ave. undercrossing in theory, but voted against it because of the expense. “Where does the $60 million come from? The money you have now could be used to do other stuff with, right? You could redo the Middlefield-Willow Road intersection,” he says. He says he is open to considering designated bike lanes on Gilbert Ave., but would like to see the Willows community drive the discussion.
Velagapudi grew up in London and was used to bicycling there, but hasn’t felt as safe doing so here. He would like to see more bike infrastructure that helps Willows residents connect with other neighborhoods, including Middlefield and Willow Road, Middlefield and Woodland, and the undercrossing at Middle Ave. He’d also like to see protected bike lanes on Willow Road. “The question is how we get it funded, but there are so many grants that we could leverage.” He notes that on Coleman Ave., survey results show that people’s perceptions of parking availability have actually improved since the parking was removed. He points to this outcome as a reason to pursue more pilots and quick-build projects. He thinks Gilbert Ave. would be a good place to pilot parking-protected bike lanes.
Velagapudi thinks that the city should try to incentivize more e-bike use, but encourage responsible use through regulations. If possible, he’d like to see the city go further and prohibit Class 1 and 2 e-bike use for those under 16—Class 3 is already off-limits—in order to give the police department more leverage to enforce e-bike safety.
While we appreciate Combs’ commitment to public service, we’d like to see a councilmember that is willing to expend more political capital on bike and pedestrian advocacy. We appreciate the degree to which Velagapudi is already thinking about bike and pedestrian infrastructure. Given his experience, Velagapudi will be familiar with financial constraints and the need for creative solutions. He’ll also be able to engage more fully in city-wide discussions since he isn’t employed by Meta, the city’s largest employer, which is going to be particularly important now that the Willow Village project has been shelved. Combs has had to recuse himself from discussions that involve his employer.
District 4 (Downtown): Charlotte Reed
Laura Melahn, an investor in healthcare companies; and Charlotte Reed, a communications and public relations expert, are competing to fill the council seat that will be vacated by Betsy Nash, who has served two terms.
Melahn joined the city’s Finance and Audit Commission in 2025 and helped to launch Downtown Menlo Fund, a nonprofit that supports local businesses in the absence of a city chamber of commerce. She has a kindergartener and a preschooler, and bikes with them to Oak Knoll every day. Melahn, who moved here from San Francisco in 2020, would like to see the city take a page from SF’s Slow Streets program and install more non-infrastructure elements, like in-street signs that alert drivers to bicyclists and pedestrians and do more pilot and quick-build projects. She’d also like to see the city implement retractable bollards, as Redwood City has, so that Santa Cruz can become a pedestrian plaza in the evenings, for special events, and on weekends.
Reed, who moved to Menlo Park in 2024, would also like the city do more quick-build projects, but notes that the several current vacancies in the Public Works department makes that a challenge. Both Melahn and Reed are enthusiastic about bike lanes on El Camino Real. “There’s not that many cars parked on El Camino,” notes Melahn. Reed notes that among the many other reasons to move forward, neighboring communities who have built bike lanes on ECR have seen a financial boost. “There is a sales tax revenue increase from increased foot traffic to local businesses when you do build bike lanes,” she says.
Measure P is the big issue for District 4. Bike Menlo Park is a strong No on P: dense housing downtown is integral to our future as a bikeable, walkable city. Both Reed and Melahn have chosen the diplomatic route, not stating yea or nay on Measure P.
Reed began contemplating getting involved in city government in January 2025, when the RFQ for the parking plazas was introduced at council. “Everybody faced off with each other and the meeting went from 6pm to 1:30am. Coming out of the meeting, I felt that we are so broken as a community in the way we speak and treat each other. We are so desperate for more collaboration and more conversation,” she says. Reed believes that the measure exists because the city failed to include residents and retailers in the discussion when the housing element was finalized. She says she supports the rezoning of the downtown lots to allow housing, but will respect the outcome of the Measure P vote.
Given the number of Melahn signs next to Yes on Measure P signs, you could be forgiven for thinking that she is a Measure P supporter. Melahn says that she is not part of the Save Downtown Menlo “faction,” but believes that the current plan for the downtown parking lots can't meet deadlines and isn't financially viable. During our interview, Melahn described her alternative plan, which involves amending the housing element to make it compliant with deadlines and negotiating with developers of existing projects to add more very-low-income housing to build those units more quickly and economically. She also stated that she does support redevelopment of the parking lots with mixed-income housing, including very-low-income units (though this is not explicit on her campaign website).
While we’re impressed by Melahn’s can-do attitude and enthusiasm for bike and pedestrian infrastructure, we’re uneasy about her housing strategy. Trying to amend the housing element will just open the door to more chaos and delay, and getting more units from developers is a big if. Serving on council requires stamina for lengthy discussions and building consensus, and we note that only one of Melahn’s colleagues on the seven-person Finance and Audit Commission has chosen to endorse her, while Reed currently has 18 commissioner endorsements (though not from Finance and Audit). We think at this point in time, Reed, who is focused on improving communication and building bridges, might be a better fit.
Menlo Park City School District Board: Sherwin Chen, Maya Herstein, Jed Scolnick
The MPCSD board serves an important role, managing the budget for the highly ranked public elementary and middle schools that serve much of Menlo Park and Atherton. The five-person board works closely with district administration and negotiates with teacher and staff unions. The board also sets policies like the e-bike one it passed last year: it banned Class 2 and 3 e-bikes from campuses in the interests of student safety, while still allowing Class 1 e-bikes.
The district recently went through a $1.2 million budget cut, the first step in a $4 million reduction plan over three years to end deficit spending and protect teacher pay, which board members feel is critical to retaining good teachers. The board’s major upcoming task is overseeing the roughly $70 million new campus for Lower Laurel, one of several capital improvement projects that are being funded by Measure U bonds.
The board has three seats that are in play, with four candidates: incumbents Sherwin Chen and Jed Scolnick, joined by Andrew Barnes and Maya Herstein.
Chen, a retired finance professional, is motivated to serve a third term in part to see Lower Laurel through. “I want to make sure that we deliver a quality product on budget, and the community gets what it paid for,” says Chen. Scolnick, a stay-at-home dad with a marketing and tech background, feels like he is hitting his stride after one term, and is passionate about making sure the district has the budget to accommodate students with learning disabilities.
Barnes, who works in facilities and real estate for Santa Clara County, currently chairs the Measure U citizens’ bond oversight committee and is excited to get more involved. “It’s boring stuff, and I think I can do it well,” he says, citing both his public sector and community experience, which includes eight years on Menlo Park’s planning commission.
Herstein, a former attorney who has an MBA, is running to get better representation of parents who currently have children in the district (she has a 4th grader at Oak Knoll; current member Josh Spira has a 2nd grader at Lower Laurel). “I can read a contract, a P&L, and a budget, which I’m told is a useful skill set for this board,” says Herstein. She also spent a year on the school district’s LCAP (Local Control and Accountability Plan) committee. “I call it the non-sexy way to volunteer,” she says. “It helped shape my views on family engagement and reaching students who need more support.”
With four eminently capable candidates for three seats, we had to make a choice. We’re endorsing Chen and Scolnick, two experienced incumbents who have steered the district through some tough budget choices. We hope that Barnes continues to scrutinize Measure U spending (he says that projects are coming in under budget and ahead of schedule). But we’re endorsing Herstein for the third seat because we think she’d be a strong advocate for parent concerns while collaborating well with the other board members. We also believe that boards should strive for gender balance, and Herstein would bring the number up from one woman to two.