FOLSOM, Calif. — Folsom voters will elect two new city council members to the dais in November.
Folsom City Council has two seats up for grabs in the Nov. 5 general election. The slots are currently occupied by YK Chalamcherla and Rosario Rodriguez, who were elected as at-large council members in 2020. The city moved to a by-district election system in March 2022, and seats for Districts 1, 3 and 5 were filled in the 2022 general election.
This year’s general election decides Districts 2 and 4 council members. District 2 contains central and western portions of the city. Coverage on District 4 candidates can be found HERE.
The following candidates (in alphabetical order by last name) seek to lead District 2:
- Hla Elkhatib.
- Justin Raithel.
- Dustin Silva.
ABC10 sent the same seven questions to each candidate about their stances. Here are their responses:
Hla Elkhatib
Elkhatib, 26, said she is a small business owner and law student. She identifies as a Democrat.
Why are you running for Folsom City Council?
I am proud that Folsom has always been my home. Growing up in Folsom allowed me to appreciate all that it has to offer – the quality of life, great education, our parks and trails and all that makes it distinctive by nature. I am running to give back to the amazing community that raised me and ensure that our quality of life can be sustained and all residents can thrive in our town. As someone who grew up in Folsom, I am passionate about youth issues, and I believe that young voices are integral to government on every level. I am a proud graduate of Folsom High School and Folsom Lake College and am passionate about creating more opportunities for my generation of Folsom residents. I want our city to have more jobs so those who grow up in Folsom have affordable housing and career opportunities. I want to ensure we remain a business-friendly city so that my generation has the ability to open businesses to contribute to our community. Upon graduating from UC Davis with a degree in political science, I immediately began my career as a policy professional in the California State Senate where I helped draft, analyze and spearhead the passage of numerous bills, which have now been signed into California law. This experience gave me the tools to make effective policy decisions and allowed me to understand the importance of working with regional and state partners to impact collaborative change.
How do you believe homelessness in Folsom can best be addressed? Is there any specific program or practice you would like the city to implement with regard to homelessness, should you be elected to council? We ask in the context of Sacramento County's latest point-in-time count in 2024, which showed a 565% increase in nightly unsheltered homelessness in Folsom since 2022.
Alongside working with law enforcement to support and expand their HOT team (Homeless Outreach Team) efforts, ensure adequate staffing, and provide resources like mental health counselors to aid their work, I am committed to implementing long-term solutions to combat homelessness. This includes ensuring increased funding and accessibility to mental health services, addiction treatment programs, job training and development, and educational opportunities to address the underlying issues contributing to homelessness. I believe we should be uplifting the valuable work of local organizations like HART and Jake’s Journey Home to help those seeking services. I also believe in the importance of preventing housed residents from falling into homelessness. I will work with county and regional partners to ensure our community’s vulnerable residents have the resources and support to stay afloat. Homelessness is a statewide issue, and we must partner with county and regional partners to collaborate on a long term solution.
What are your thoughts on creating affordable housing in Folsom? Separately, where do you stand on Angelo Tsakopoulos’ “Community for Health and Independence” project, which, if it came to fruition as it is currently proposed, would expand Folsom’s land area and add at least 4,000 housing units to Folsom alone?
I believe that more housing options should be available at all income levels to cater all Folsom residents. I plan to evaluate affordable housing projects on a case by case basis to ensure each project meets the needs of our city. I believe that smart growth is appropriate and can be achieved when the environmental, economic and social costs of development are weighed and mitigated in advance to reduce adverse impacts. Development should be coordinated with well defined boundaries, at a pace that makes sense for the city’s infrastructure and services.
I am not in favor of the Community for Health and Independence project at this time. This project would expand the county’s urban service boundary past any existing government approved growth plan and would lead to far more traffic congestion. Additionally, it is not within the city limits, which makes it difficult to provide services and would ultimately cause many unintended consequences.
Folsom is one of California’s fastest-growing cities, which often means more jobs, investment and business opportunities. Is Folsom’s growth something you would like to attempt contributing to should you be elected into office?
I am committed to supporting our business community by encouraging new ventures and creating new opportunities for local business to thrive. Specifically, our River District and Central Business District offer valuable opportunities to attract new recreational and economic development ventures that cater to a variety of interests.
Are you in support of adopting Folsom’s citizen-led, 1-cent sales tax initiative, which will appear on the ballot in November? Why or why not? What are other ways projected funding gaps posed by City Manager Elaine Andersen can be addressed? People turning to online sales is one factor contributing to this deficit.
I support the citizen-led sales tax initiative. Folsom is heading toward a large structural deficit and our quality of life, access to police/fire services and the maintenance of our parks and trails will suffer tremendously if we don’t act now. This is a modest initiative for a one-cent special sales tax increase that would result in $29 million in revenue annually back to Folsom to invest in what makes our town such a great place to live. Folsom has the lowest sales tax in the county and in order to avoid the mounting fiscal challenges that we foresee, this increase is a necessity.
Folsom works to make its roads safer; for example, it’s studying roundabouts and adopting updated speed limits. What is your stance on traffic and road safety in Folsom, and how might you approach this subject if elected to council?
Mitigating traffic, ensuring road safety and consistent maintenance is a priority for myself and our residents. Investing in projects like the Southeast Connector, Folsom’s 15-minute light service project, encouraging walkability in our community and spearheading road improvement projects like new freeways and over crossings are vital ways to mitigate traffic, encourage the use of public transit and improve road safety. Additionally, I am committed to supporting national best practices, such as Vision Zero to ensure Folsom can decrease traffic fatalities.
Should you be elected, what other issue(s) would you like to address or continue to address as a council member, and can you briefly explain how you would tackle them? Perhaps there are district-specific issues you would like to mention.
My commitment to youth development involves investments in crucial programs offered by the city and fostering collaboration with our community college and local high schools to ensure enhanced outcomes for the youth. By establishing a Youth Commission, I aim to provide a platform for young leaders to actively participate in shaping the future of the community. Through these initiatives, I envision creating an educational ecosystem that not only prioritizes academic excellence but also nurtures the holistic development of our youth, equipping them with the skills and opportunities needed for a successful future. Additionally, I will work with our police department and leverage county resources to address rising fentanyl concerns in our schools and parks, advocate for Narcan prevention programs and community initiatives and emphasize consistent park maintenance to promptly remove biohazards like discarded needles to safeguard our community.
Justin Raithel
Raithel, 44, said he is a small business owner; he reportedly serves as a partner in a medical software company and strategizes for Sacramento-area clients. He identifies as a Republican.
Why are you running for Folsom City Council?
I love Folsom and want to ensure Folsom stays a great place to live, work and raise a family. I have the experience of serving on our city commissions (Library, Historic District and Planning) and our steering committee for Folsom’s Community Service Day for 10 years now where I am always trying to do what is best for Folsom’s residents. I have a thorough understanding of the challenges our city government is facing, and I’m passionate about protecting our quality of life here in Folsom.
How do you believe homelessness in Folsom can best be addressed? Is there any specific program or practice you would like the city to implement with regard to homelessness, should you be elected to council? We ask in the context of Sacramento County's latest point-in-time count in 2024, which showed a 565% increase in nightly unsheltered homelessness in Folsom since 2022.
Folsom has done a poor job enforcing our existing laws to ensure the homeless and mentally ill do not pose fire and sanitation risks to our residents. Folsom has significantly improved our anti-camping enforcement since the Grants Pass decision, and I appreciate all our officers are doing to keep our community safe. I believe we had the authority to do this for many years and the increase in count we saw in Folsom was due to our lax enforcement as our neighbors implemented stricter anti-camping policies.
I personally support Powerhouse Ministries, Jake’s Journey Home and any other organization which works to get our homeless the help they need. I think the city must enforce our laws and property rights to ensure public safety. Our officers and code enforcement personnel should work with private organizations and maintain a good relationship to assist where we can, but the city’s duty is to public safety, public amenities and local regulation.
What are your thoughts on creating affordable housing in Folsom? Separately, where do you stand on Angelo Tsakopoulos’ “Community for Health and Independence” project, which, if it came to fruition as it is currently proposed, would expand Folsom’s land area and add at least 4,000 housing units to Folsom alone?
I believe the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) process is flawed and is causing our housing stock to either be single-family or high-density apartments by mandating upzoning to RD-30 and above. State law also prevents us from downzoning until at least 2029. Many good naturally affordable projects can be built out at lower and medium densities such as townhomes and courtyard developments which are great starter homes that allow homeownership for our residents.
We should aggressively defend Folsom’s quality of life and zoning within the legal bounds of land use policy. We should also work with other cities to advance our legislative agenda and fight against continuing state intrusion into our local land control.
In regard to the Community for Health and Independence, I don’t support expanding Folsom’s boundaries further to the south. While I applaud a community for seniors and those with special needs, the design and location of the proposed community would lead to further traffic for Folsom’s residents and it would induce further development to the west of the proposed project exacerbating our current challenges here in Folsom.
Folsom is one of California’s fastest-growing cities, which often means more jobs, investment and business opportunities. Is Folsom’s growth something you would like to attempt contributing to should you be elected into office?
My goal is to prevent overdevelopment and the negative repercussions such as traffic, crime, school overcrowding and loss of our small town feel. I am not anti-growth, but I am anti-growth for growth’s sake. Folsom is a special place to build, and I don’t believe we need to cut corners to make it attractive to build in Folsom. We should ensure all development within Folsom is to a high standard and that we are encouraging homeownership as much as possible for our residents. I am fully supportive of attracting new jobs and new amenities to Folsom to ensure our quality of life is the best.
Are you in support of adopting Folsom’s citizen-led, 1-cent sales tax initiative, which will appear on the ballot in November? Why or why not? What are other ways projected funding gaps posed by City Manager Elaine Andersen can be addressed? People turning to online sales is one factor contributing to this deficit.
I’ve served on the citizen led committee since it’s inception and am still serving to ensure its passage. I generally do not support taxes, but I do support local services and local control of our tax dollars. With the flattening/decline of our sales tax revenues and the point of sale laws on the books the city of Folsom has little choice but to seek extra revenues or watch our amenities decline. No one moved to Folsom because it is just OK, we moved here because it is a gem and we have high expectations of our city. Out of the options for local revenue, a sales tax increase is the best option since 40% of it is paid from non-residents.
While I think the sales tax increase is the best option to address the funding gaps, I think there is more we can do to constrain costs with our current contracting methods. Many cities are going back to insourcing maintenance responsibilities as costs to contract these services out have skyrocketed.
Folsom works to make its roads safer; for example, it’s studying roundabouts and adopting updated speed limits. What is your stance on traffic and road safety in Folsom, and how might you approach this subject if elected to council?
Folsom needs to time its traffic lights on major arterials like East Bidwell, Blue Ravine and Oak Avenue. Our city has grown too large to continue our current approach, and this small change would allow us to increase traffic flow across the city.
My top infrastructure priority is building the Empire Ranch Interchange, which was planned to be built back in 2007. The construction of this interchange would pull traffic off East Bidwell especially around Iron Point and Highway 50.
While I am supportive of roundabouts, the retroactive installation of roundabouts is expensive and requires more land than traffic signals so I think these would really have to be justified when we have so many other competing infrastructure priorities.
Should you be elected, what other issue(s) would you like to address or continue to address as a council member, and can you briefly explain how you would tackle them? Perhaps there are district-specific issues you would like to mention.
Our city government is under pressure to do more with less. I will work with our city leadership to implement technology solutions and increase efficiency. Our residents and businesses need to focus on getting work done, not on government paperwork. I hear from residents and businesses alike that our permitting system just isn’t working for them.
I will work to increase two-way, app-based communication between our city government and residents through a citizen engagement platform where residents can get notified of the issues important to them and give feedback where they are passionate.
Dustin Silva
Silva, 47, said he is a sheriff’s captain with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. He says he does not have a political party preference.
Why are you running for Folsom City Council?
I'm running for this position because I'm deeply committed to ensuring public safety, promoting fiscal accountability and fostering economic development within our community.
My top priority is to implement policies and initiatives that prioritize the safety and security of all residents. This includes investing in law enforcement resources, supporting homeless outreach/enforcement efforts and implementing crime prevention programs founded on maintaining a high quality of life for Folsom residents and business owners.
Secondly, I aim to ensure fiscal accountability by carefully managing taxpayer dollars and promoting transparency in government spending. By streamlining processes, reducing waste and identifying areas for cost savings, we can ensure that public funds are used efficiently and effectively to benefit our community. As the son of a small business owner, I know the importance of economic growth and the role a healthy business community offers its citizens.
Finally, I'm dedicated to fostering economic development to create jobs, attract investment and improve the overall prosperity of our area. This involves working with local businesses, entrepreneurs and economic development organizations to create a supportive environment for growth and innovation.
Overall, my goal is to serve as a responsible steward of our community's resources while working tirelessly to enhance public safety, promote fiscal accountability and drive sustainable economic development.
How do you believe homelessness in Folsom can best be addressed? Is there any specific program or practice you would like the city to implement with regard to homelessness, should you be elected to council? We ask in the context of Sacramento County's latest point-in-time count in 2024, which showed a 565% increase in nightly unsheltered homelessness in Folsom since 2022.
Over the past several years, I have played a central role in overseeing the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office’s homeless strategy. As a lieutenant, I directly managed the Homeless Outreach Team (HOT), and in my role as the Undersheriff’s Assistant, I contributed to the creation and implementation of the policies currently employed by the Sheriff's Office to address homelessness. I have personally visited homeless camps and engaged in conversations with individuals living in them.
Any policy aimed at addressing homelessness must begin with law enforcement. The victimization rates among the homeless community are significantly higher than the California average, with the perpetrators most often being other homeless individuals. Instances of sexual assaults, domestic violence, human trafficking, theft, assaults and drug use are unfortunately common within these communities and camps. Therefore, prioritizing the elimination of crime associated with homelessness has to be the first priority.
In addition to addressing major crimes within the homeless community, enforcement of laws pertaining to quality of life is essential. This includes prioritizing the enforcement of city and state ordinances related to littering, panhandling, use of public lands, environmental regulations and public intoxication.
The city and law enforcement must have a comprehensive understanding of the available resources for the homeless and how these services are allocated. Once individuals in genuine need who desire assistance are identified, the city should be equipped to provide necessary support through county agencies and private organizations.
By taking a coordinated approach that involves law enforcement, social services and community resources, we can work towards meaningful solutions to address homelessness in Folsom.
What are your thoughts on creating affordable housing in Folsom? Separately, where do you stand on Angelo Tsakopoulos’ “Community for Health and Independence” project, which, if it came to fruition as it is currently proposed, would expand Folsom’s land area and add at least 4,000 housing units to Folsom alone?
The AKT project is in its infancy, and it would be irresponsible to take a definitive stance this early.
As a council member, my priority will be the current residents of Folsom and ensuring their quality of life. I will ensure there is adequate infrastructure, public safety and traffic measures before approving any additional growth.
The over-65 population is growing quickly, and I want to hear more from them as to what their wants and needs are.
I look forward to seeing how this project develops in the future and making an informed decision that will benefit Folsom as a whole.
Folsom is one of California’s fastest-growing cities, which often means more jobs, investment and business opportunities. Is Folsom’s growth something you would like to attempt contributing to should you be elected into office?
Recognizing the inevitability of growth and expansion is crucial for cities like ours. By acknowledging this reality early on, we can actively participate in the planning process and ensure the development aligns with the vision and values of our community.
Taking a proactive approach allows us to have a meaningful voice in decision-making, ensuring that any new developments reflect the character and identity of Folsom. Collaboration with developers, stakeholders and residents enables us to prioritize sustainable growth, preserve our unique qualities and maintain a high quality of life for all residents.
Instead of resisting growth until it becomes unavoidable, engaging from the beginning empowers us to steer development in a direction that benefits our city in the long run.
Are you in support of adopting Folsom’s citizen-led, 1-cent sales tax initiative, which will appear on the ballot in November? Why or why not? What are other ways projected funding gaps posed by City Manager Elaine Andersen can be addressed? People turning to online sales is one factor contributing to this deficit.
I signed the initiative to have the measure put on the ballot and I will be voting yes to pass it in November. To me, $150 to $200 a year is a great return on investment for what this measure provides.
However, I am aware that it may not pass, and I am fully ready to lead the city if it doesn’t. The city of Folsom must elect leaders with experience in managing large budgets, making tough decisions and responsible spending, regardless of initiative passing. I would like to see more energy directed toward economic development and I will support policies that promote revenue-generating opportunities for Folsom.
I will also be very active in seeking funding at both the state and federal levels. I have played a pivotal role in seeking out and securing additional funding sources for the Sheriff's Office and will bring those relationships with me to the Folsom City Council.
I adhere to fiscal conservatism, believing in the responsible spending of taxpayer money toward projects that benefit the entire community. I am committed to eliminating wasteful spending and recognizing its harmful impact on the public's trust in elected officials.
Folsom works to make its roads safer; for example, it’s studying roundabouts and adopting updated speed limits. What is your stance on traffic and road safety in Folsom, and how might you approach this subject if elected to council?
There are several specific areas in Folsom where traffic is truly bad. Additional infrastructure would help to alleviate the traffic in some of these areas and reengineering would be helpful in others. Whatever the solution an emphasis should be placed on improving vehicular rather than bike and pedestrian movement. Personal vehicles are still the number one mode of transportation for Folsom residents, and their needs should not be sacrificed to force different modes of transportation.
Should you be elected, what other issue(s) would you like to address or continue to address as a council member, and can you briefly explain how you would tackle them? Perhaps there are district-specific issues you would like to mention.
Aside from the homeless issues, the ongoing revitalization efforts of the Central Business District must be sustained and expedited. This area serves as a significant revenue generator for the city via sales tax. The city must prioritize strategies that maintain the Central Business District's appeal for both new businesses and established enterprises.
I also strongly believe collaboration between government and businesses is essential for economic growth and development. Implementing business-friendly policies, streamlining regulations and offering incentives create an environment conducive to business success.
Where are current council members going?
Council members Chalamcherla and Rodriguez look elsewhere in the Folsom region for political careers.
Chalamcherla is running against Dianna Laney, a local business owner, for the Folsom Cordova Unified School District Board of Education Trustee Area 2 seat currently occupied by the board’s president, Tim Hooey, who is not running for reelection.
In the March 5 primary election, Supervisor-elect Rodriguez won 51.47% of the vote in the District 4 Sacramento County Board of Supervisors race. She needed 50% plus one vote to win and is expected to be sworn into office in January.
