As Facebook continues to be a powerful political force in the city of Menlo Park, concerns have been raised by the public thatat least two contenders for the three City Council seats up for election this year could have conflicts of interest that woulddisqualify them from participating in Facebook-related council decisions.

Keith also cited some of the “little things” she’s been a part of as a councilwoman that have improved residents’ lives — such as the council voting last Tuesday to close Clover Lane to vehicular traffic and add speed bumps on Blackburn Avenue, Marmona and McKendry drives. Residents had petitioned the city for the bumps in hopes they would cut down on people speeding through their neighborhood.

In Menlo Park, where they are voting by district for the first time, incumbents Kirsten Keith and Peter Ohtaki, are both facing serious challenges and you can expect the main debate to be over the changes brought about by the dominating presence of Facebook in that town.

Now Menlo Park has five council districts. Previously, with at-large elections, every resident had a say in electing all five council members. Now, they will only get to pick one person. The voting rights of every resident have been reduced by 80% due to this switch.

Contested elections are ahead for all three seats open on the Menlo Park City Council... In Menlo Park, all three seats are for four-year terms... District 2, which includes the Willows, Flood Triangle and Suburban Park neighborhoods: Drew Combs and current council member Kirsten Keith.

Three seats will be up for election in Menlo Park, but they will not be open to everyone in the city, since the council has switched to district elections... In District 2, which covers the Willows, Suburban Park and Flood Triangle, Councilwoman Kirsten Keith will be facing Planning Commissioner Drew Combs.

Complete Streets Commissioner Betsy Nash and Housing Commissioner Rachel Horst both pulled papers Aug. 2 to run for council. Council member Peter Ohtaki and Finance and Audit Committee member Ron Shepherd have also pulled papers to run.

“It wouldn’t be wise to engage in a major project or initiative like this right on the eve of someone who represents residents specifically from this area joining the council,” Combs said. Combs is running for city council as well, but to represent the Willows and Flood Triangle neighborhoods. However, Combs is recused from discussions regarding the east side’s zoning plan because he works for Facebook.

Kirsten Keith... raised $19,267 as of June 30. Of that, $18,430 was in the form of cash contributions and $837 came from non-monetary campaign contributions... Keith reported campaign contributions from many local elected officials, current and former city commissioners, and local business owners and leaders.

Keith has raised $19,267 so far. Her contributors include the Sobrato Organization ($950), developer John Tarlton ($950), the California Apartments Association ($500), Palo Alto Mayor Liz Kniss ($250), San Mateo County Supervisors David Canepa ($250) and Don Horsley ($200), Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian ($100), San Mateo County Harbor Commissioner Sabrina Brennan ($100), former Menlo Park City Manager Glen Rojas ($100), and MidPen Housing Vice President Jan Lindenthal ($100).

In the run up to the Nov. 6 election, in the Menlo Park City Council races, Planning Commissioner Drew Combs — who recently moved to the Flood Park neighborhood — has pulled papers for District 2, joining incumbent Kirsten Keith as a possible candidate for the seat.

Combs, 41, is a manager in the user experience unit of Facebook, and cannot vote on the company’s huge development on Willow Road, or anything else relating to the company. However, Combs says that being a member of the council is “a lot more than voting on matters related to Facebook.”

In Menlo Park, Cecilia Taylor picked up papers to run for a City Council seat representing District 1, the Belle Haven neighborhood... candidates previously reported by The Almanac as having picked up nomination papers include the following... For the Menlo Park City Council: George Yang and Kirsten Keith

Three seats will be up for election in Menlo Park, but they will not be open to everyone in the city, since the council has switched to district elections. Districts 1, 2, and 4 are up for grabs this year. Councilwoman Kirsten Keith, who lives in the Willows in District 2, has pulled papers.

In Menlo Park, newcomer George Yang in District 1 and current council member Kirsten Keith in District 2 have taken out candidacy papers but not returned them. In Menlo Park, because this will be the first year for district elections there are considered to be no incumbents and the filing period will end on Aug. 10...

Monday (July 16) marks the opening of the candidate filing period for the Nov. 6 election... The candidate filing period ends on Aug. 10... Councilwoman Kirsten Keith, who lives in the Willows in District 2, is running for reelection. No one has filed against her yet...

The candidate filing period for the Nov. 6 general election in San Mateo County opens Monday, July 16, and closes at 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 10... Seats are open on the city or town councils... Menlo Park: Three seats, currently occupied by Richard A. Cline, Kirsten Keith and Peter I. Ohtaki.

Before the opening of filing, many of the council races are without challengers… But there are some races lining up. The rumor is someone will challenge incumbent Kirsten Keith in the newly drawn Menlo Park council districts. George Yang confirmed to the Country Almanac that he is running in Menlo Park’s District 1...

George Yang, 42, and a 10-year resident of Menlo Park, has announced his candidacy for Menlo Park's City Council. He livesin the Belle Haven neighborhood and plans to run for the District 1 seat.Yang works as a system architect at Garm8 Inc., aSanta Clara software company that works on garment manufacturing.

Combs said he has a "great deal of respect" for Keith, but added "I do think there is value in new blood." ... As an employee of Facebook, Combs has recused himself from all Planning Commission matters that deal directly with the company. He's also recused himself from matters relating to projects on properties that abut Facebook property.

Drew Combs... is considering running again this fall. If he decides to run, he would go up against two-term incumbent Kirsten Keith, who has said she will be seeking a third four-year term in November... this year, the city is divided into five districts, and he and Keith would compete in the district that includes the Willows neighborhood.

Last September then-Menlo Park Mayor Kirsten Keith convened a public forum to discuss educational equality in Menlo Park. At the time, Suzanne Carrig, a Santa Clara County education official, gave a presentation about how to change district boundaries.

Malibu attorney Kevin Shenkman threatened Menlo Park with a lawsuit last year if it didn’t switch from at-large to district elections... Menlo Park responded to Shenkman’s threat by switching to council districts starting this fall. Going forward, each voter will only get to select one council member, not all five.

Recently, Suburban Park resident Sarah Staley Shenk informed The Almanac that, after considering a November council run for the seat for District 2, she has decided not to run... She said she wants to focus on work, family and continuing to serve on the the city's Parks & Recreation Commission.

Councilwoman Kirsten Keith had expressed reservations about reappointing Combs. "My concern is that in the next few years, with the Facebook Village proposal going forward ... I'm interested in making sure we get as much input as we can. (This) conflict concerns me."

Suburban Park resident Sarah Staley Shenk... said she just doesn’t have the capacity... One other person who has said he will not be challenging Keith is Menlo Park Fire Protection Board President Chuck Bernstein... he told the Post yesterday... he still has work to do on the fire board.

Incumbents Rich Cline, Kirsten Keith and Peter Ohtaki, whose terms are up in November, all live in districts 2 and 4. Cline, who along with Mayor Ohtaki lives in District 4, is not seeking re-election, but Ohtaki said Wednesday he plans to run when the filing period opens July 18.

It appears Menlo Park City Councilwoman Kirsten Keith may have a challenger in this November’s City Council race... Two issues the council is trying to manage right now — traffic and housing — greatly impact District 2 and its neighbor to the east, District 1, which encompasses the Belle Haven.

So far, three people have filed preliminary forms showing "intention" to run in November, Mr. Curtin told The Almanac on March 23: council incumbent Kirsten Keith, and newcomers George Yang and Sarah Staley Shenk.

Menlo Park City Council last night approved a map that divides the city into five districts from which council members will be elected in the future, a move intended to stop a threatened lawsuit. Councilwoman Kirsten Keith lives in District 2.

"We want to make sure we stay on our timeline," said Councilwoman Kirsten Keith, noting that lines will have to be redrawn following the completion of the 2020 census anyway.

The seats of three incumbents are up for grabs in November’s council election. The Post reported Friday that the other two incumbents, Kirsten Keith and Peter Ohtaki, said they both plan to run for re-election.

As for the two incumbents who are planning to run for re-election — Willows resident Kirsten Keith and West Menlo resident Peter Ohtaki — both of their neighborhoods are up for election in November.

In a six-district map, Mueller, Cline and Ohtaki are in one district, while Carlton is in her own. Councilwoman Kirsten Keith lives in the Willows neighborhood on the east side of El Camino.

The Menlo Park City Council may soon vote on a new fast-track plan that could dramatically change the way its members are elected.

If there are no majority winners at that point, the process is repeated until a candidate wins. Council members Rich Cline and Kirsten Keith said they did not expect to discuss a charter because residents would not have sufficient time to learn about the charter and then vote on it in November.

Members of Menlo Park's new Districting Advisory Committee took the oath of office Jan. 22 and laid the ground rules for theirupcoming work over the next month.

The map must be submitted to the county Registrar of Voters in May to qualify for the November ballot, when the terms for Mayor Peter Ohtaki and council members Rich Cline and Kirsten Keith expire.

Council members Rich Cline and Kirsten Keith said they did not expect to discuss a charter because residents would not have sufficient time to learn about the charter and then vote on it in November.

Facing such threatened litigation is like having "a gun to your head," Menlo Park Mayor Kirsten Keith said.

Menlo Park Mayor Kirsten Keith presented an upbeat take on where things stand in Menlo Park during her "State of the City" address Oct.

Catherine Carlton lives farther west in Sharon Heights while Kirsten Keith’s home is the Willows neighborhood near Highway 101.

At the City Council meeting the next day, Mayor Kirsten Keith amended a comment letter the city is sending to the transit agency to reflect residents' concerns.

Monday night’s meeting, which drew 75 people, was called by Menlo Park Mayor Kirsten Keith to discuss improving education in the Belle Haven.

Menlo Park Mayor Kirsten Keith and school officials will talk about how to improve the quality of Belle Haven students’ education during a public forum Monday.

from the Paris climate-change agreement, Menlo Park Mayor Kirsten Keith announced the next day that she had joined mayors of more than 175 U.S.

Menlo Park Mayor Kirsten Keith, in a statement released Friday, said the city will continue to pursue environmental goals initiated in a climate action plan launched in 2009.

“As Mayor of the City of Menlo Park, I will work with other leaders around the country, and locally, through the Mayors National Climate Action Agenda to honor and uphold our commitments to the goals of the Paris Agreement,” Mayor Kirsten Keith stated.

But Mayor Kirsten Keith said the ordinance contains so many holes it won’t function as advertised.

While the number of those arguing for and against the pilot was split about evenly during the meeting, Mayor Kirsten Keith said she received before the meeting about 10 emails against the project and 66 in favor.

MENLO PARK, CA – Mayor Kirsten Keith and Police Chief Bob Jonsen will host two more community meetings.

Mayor Kirsten Keith, who took the reins from Rich Cline during the City Council’s last meeting of 2016, said housing should also be “front and center” this year, beginning with a discussion of affordable housing at the council’s first meeting of the year on Tuesday .

Mayor Kirsten Keith, who serves as liaison to the Bicycle Commission, said she would support the creation of a “complete streets commission,” an idea she proposed two years ago but which did not get enough traction from the council.

Because that distinction goes to Kirsten Keith, who last served as mayor in 2012, she was nominated with no discussion.

Last night, Menlo Park council selected mayor pro tem Kirsten Keith to be its new mayor and Peter Ohtaki to be mayor pro tem.

Councilwoman Kirsten Keith was selected Tuesday by the Menlo Park City Council for her second turn as the city's mayor.