On Jan. 6, the Palo Alto City Council elected former Vice Mayor Ed Lauing and Council member Vicki Veenker as Mayor and Vice Mayor of Palo Alto, respectively. Both candidates will serve their term from 2025-26.
Mayor Ed Lauing
Lauing’s leadership started when he became chair of two commissions, which are groups that tackle specific issues. Starting his career 15 years ago, Lauing joined the Parks and Recreation Commission. Later, he moved to the Planning and Transportation Commission, and two years ago, he served on the council.
Along with working at nonprofit organizations such as the Babe Ruth Regional Baseball League, the Palo Alto Urban Ministry, and the Congregation Beth Am, Lauing’s experience in city jobs inspired him to run for mayor.
“Particularly in corporate work, where I was CEO of software companies, I developed the skill set for budgeting and creating group dynamics to become an effective leader,” he said.
Annually, the council attends a goal-setting retreat to organize their yearly priorities, which include economic development, climate action, public safety, and wellness. Lauing hopes to push another goal in his term: housing affordability.
“We need to make housing more affordable,” he said. “Our service workers shouldn’t have to drive an hour and a half to work a minimum-wage job and then have to drive another hour and a half back. On Jan. 20, (the council) approved a new affordable housing project to build 70 more homes, fitting about 200 people. That is the kind of project we need to focus on because this is an expensive place to live.”
For his goals regarding PAUSD, Lauing wants to support school communities by providing more teen mental health aid.
“We want to (focus on teen mental health issues) and create more teen centers,” he said. “The focus for us is health and wellness and to help teens get through the heaviness of life each day.”
Although it was Lauing’s experience in city planning that led him to win his position as mayor, it was his dedication to the people that inspired him to run.
“I’d say my mentors are the citizens of Palo Alto,” he said. “I’ve lived here for over 30 years, and since I know about the city, I found that I wanted to do more to make this an even better place to live.”
Vice Mayor Vicki Veenker
A member of the Palo Alto City Council since 2023, a lawyer, and the founder of the nonprofit Sibling Cities USA, Veenker has been involved with nonprofit organizations and volunteer work for many years. Veenker wanted to get more involved with the city, so she ran for office.
“I wanted to get more involved in public service, specifically more on policymaking,” she said. “I think when you are in community service, you’re working on various things. However, when you’re in elected office, it’s often more policymaking and setting rules to try to get the end (result) you want for a group.”
One experience that fueled Veenker’s pivot to policymaking was working for the nonprofit Convergence Center for Policy Resolution, for which she created legislation that made healthcare more affordable.
“I work with council members and mayors from a lot of different cities around the peninsula,” she said. “Later, I was selected to sit on the Bay Area Air Quality Management District board. I think all of this got me into a position to be selected as vice mayor.”
Veenker has worked on the Climate Protection Ad Hoc Committee, Policy and Services Committee, Parks and Recreation Commission, Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and the Northern California Power Agency. While she has served in various committees, she is most passionate about climate advocacy.
“For me, (working on) climate is a big (goal),” she said. “To see Palo Alto meet its (climate) goals and show other areas what can be done is really important.”
