Diverse. Progressive. Pro-housing.
Meet our candidates for Uptown Planners 2022:
Caiti Borruso, Michael Donovan, and Oscar Tavera.
Election Days and Location:
Day 1: Feb 24 from 3-6 pm at Joyce Beers Center next to Trader Joe’s
Day 2: Feb 28 from 3-6pm at MH/Hillcrest Knox Library off Washington St
Day 3: March 1 from 4-7:30 pm at Joyce Beers Center next to Trader Joe’s
Rise Up Town will have volunteers handing out our Slate Card near all election locations. Download our slate card and bring it with you.
Here’s what Rise Up Town candidates stand for:

Greater housing density
We’re neighbors who want more neighbors. Rise Up Town candidates aren’t for density for density’s sake, but we do seek greater housing opportunities aligned with climate action goals. We believe that Uptown Planner’s board should speak loudly and frequently in support of more housing in this community. We strongly support city-wide and state-wide initiatives (such as density bonuses near transit, SB 9 and 10, etc.) to increase the amount of housing under construction.

Affordability
Local planning group opposition is one cause of the affordability crisis in Uptown, for both renting and owning. Rise Up Town supports residential projects that reduce costs by removing parking minimums. We support the city’s proposals to de-couple the cost of parking spaces from residential construction in transit areas. We support density bonuses for including on-site below market rate housing. And simply put: we believe the best way to lower housing costs in Uptown is for our community planning group to actively support creating more of it.

More mobility lanes
The best way to support a thriving community is to make it easier to access by walking, busing, rolling, biking, and scootering. Our candidates bring stronger voices who favor more mobility options — and increasing the safety of everyone on our neighborhood streets. When people feel good about strolling or rolling through their neighborhood, they shop more, they meet up more, they do more. We want Uptown Planners to promote mobility and transit options for people who live in here because it makes Uptown a better place to live.

Pro-active, not reactive
We need bold, true solutions — not Band-Aids. We want strong support for local initiatives and our elected officials in efforts to respond to crises such as climate change and homelessness. We strongly endorse solutions such as Councilmember Chris Ward’s efforts to bring Permanent Supportive Housing and #HillcrestConnect in District 3. We don’t expect “somewhere else” to fix problems facing our neighborhood. We intend to make Uptown Planners an active supporter of actions taken to solve, not simply displace, the underlying crises of housing, homelessness, and climate change.

Taller buildings
We’re not afraid of tall buildings. We welcome them and want to see better use of parcels where appropriate, to increase the supply of both market rate and affordable housing. We support increased zoning height for residences and mixed-use development along Uptown’s major corridors such as University Ave, Washington, Park Blvd, 4th Ave, 5th Ave, and 6th Ave.


Bringing progressive, pro-housing voices to Uptown’s community planning.
We are fueled by our amazing volunteers and their dedicated time however these elections are getting tight. We need your financial support to get our amazing candidates elected and to spread our message to improve the community.
Consider donating to our Venmo account @riseuptown, any amount helps. Scan the QR Code from your smartphone.

Join us!
Become part of a movement for growth and change in Uptown. Add your email to our list of neighbors committed to voting for new voices at Uptown Planners. We’ll email you with a reminder to come vote at Joyce Beers Hall on election night. (We will never share or sell your information. Ever.)
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