Beth Brooks says Glendale should fight state housing mandates and take a sledgehammer to city spending
In an Inclusive Voices Media interview, Brooks said Glendale should protect single-family neighborhoods, cut waste and focus city dollars on basic services
Beth Brooks says Glendale needs to stop spending money as if every project carries the same urgency.
In an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian, the Glendale City Council candidate said the city should fight state housing mandates, protect single-family neighborhoods and take a much harder look at how public money moves through City Hall.
Brooks described herself as a renter on a fixed income. She said that gives her a direct stake in the city’s housing debate.
“I’m a renter,” Brooks said. “I’m actually a fixed income renter, so I have that as an unusual qualification, I suppose.”
Brooks is running for Glendale City Council after becoming a frequent speaker at City Council meetings. Her biography describes her as a Glendale resident of more than 30 years, a retired marketing research professional, a Vassar College graduate and the mother of an adult daughter. She has said her campaign centers on data-driven decisions, quality of life and removing political pressure from local government.
During the interview, Brooks said housing policy should begin with people facing the most immediate need.
“I believe in two medical precepts: triage and the Hippocratic Oath,” Brooks said. “Triage means you take care of the sickest, you know, the people suffering the most.”
She said Glendale should focus first on people who need emergency housing help, including those at risk of homelessness and those relying on housing vouchers. Brooks also said the city should examine Section 8 housing more closely because she believes fraud exists in the system.
“You help those people first,” Brooks said. “You help the homeless, you help the struggling people first.”
But Brooks rejected the idea that Glendale should solve housing pressure by allowing more density in single-family neighborhoods.
“I actually believe that you have to protect single family neighborhoods,” Brooks said. “I think that the mandate is crazy. I really do.”
Brooks said she believes the state’s housing mandate relies on faulty data and ignores local realities. She said cities should join together to challenge Sacramento.
“I believe that the state can’t determine what a city should do,” Brooks said. “I believe that the city should fight back against this mandate.”
She also warned that campaign promises about affordable housing may not match the cost of construction. Brooks said new market-rate development can push rents higher, not lower, because building costs remain high.
“If you’re going to hear a candidate who’s going to promise you affordable housing, it’s like it’s not going to happen,” Brooks said.
Brooks said Glendale should make room for smaller housing types where construction costs less, including duplexes, triplexes and smaller buildings. She also said the city needs to protect smaller landlords, not just tenants.
“You also have to protect small landlords, mom and pop landlords,” Brooks said.
She said if small landlords cannot earn enough to keep their buildings, they may sell to corporate developers. She warned that could lead to mass evictions and greater pressure on renters.
“If he can’t make a profit, he’s going to sell the building,” Brooks said. “And if he sells the building, it’s going to go to a corporate developer.”
On the city budget, Brooks said Glendale spends too freely and fails to set clear priorities. She said she attends City Council meetings every week and has done so for nearly two years.
“I go every week,” Brooks said. “I’ve been going for almost two years, and I see what they spend money on, and they just waste money.”
Brooks criticized a recent decision involving water meters. She said the city spent $25 million on new water meters when she believes it could have spent far less on human meter readers.
“That’s crazy,” Brooks said.
She said the city spends too much on what she called pet projects, contract overages and discretionary items. Brooks also criticized overtime spending and said the city should hire people at regular salaries rather than rely so heavily on overtime.
“They have a lot of overtime,” Brooks said. “They have 28% overtime, that’s crazy.”
Brooks said she wants to reset the budget around basic needs.
“I would take a sledgehammer to the budget,” Brooks said. “I would like a baseline budget where we only spend money on what we need.”
Her spending priorities include police, fire and road repairs. She said residents need safe streets, basic infrastructure and protection from rising utility costs.
“You have to have police and fire, that’s obvious,” Brooks said. “I believe that people need roads fixed.”
Brooks also said the city should rethink staffing and train employees to cover multiple roles where possible. She suggested the communications department could take on marketing tasks instead of the city spending more money elsewhere.
“Whatever you could do to not spend money, you have to make sure people are protected,” Brooks said.
Transportation came up as part of her budget answer. Brooks strongly criticized spending on bike lanes and said removing car lanes can create safety problems.
“The bike lane situation, if you’re going to discuss the bike lanes, is the biggest waste of money I have ever seen in my life,” Brooks said.
She said emergency vehicles need road space and residents need evacuation routes, especially in fire-prone areas.
“The police are not coming to your house when somebody’s breaking into your house on a bicycle,” Brooks said.
Brooks said the city should focus more on lowering utility bills for people who struggle most. She opposed some rebate programs and said money should go instead to lower-income utility customers.
“People need to have lower utility bills,” Brooks said. “People are suffering, people are really, really suffering.”
She described City Council service as more than an administrative role.
“It’s actually a moral job in many ways,” Brooks said. “This is a moral job.”
Brooks closed the interview by directing voters to her website, BethForGlendale.com. She said she also posts on Nextdoor, Instagram and Facebook, and said residents may see her walking in her neighborhood with her dog.
“I’m very opinionated,” Brooks said.
Candidate profile
Beth Brooks
Race: Glendale City Council.
Background: Brooks has lived in Glendale for more than 30 years. Her biography describes her as retired, a renter, a mother and a former marketing research professional with a bachelor’s degree in English from Vassar College.
Public role: Brooks says she attends Glendale City Council meetings regularly and became involved in local politics after a housing issue required help from the city.
Key campaign themes: Fighting state housing mandates, protecting single-family neighborhoods, cutting city spending, reducing waste, focusing on basic services, lowering utility costs and protecting quality of life.
Campaign website: BethForGlendale.com.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.
Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol
Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.
In the interest of fairness and equal treatment, Inclusive Voices Media followed the same protocol for every interview.
All candidates were invited and given the opportunity to select a time slot on the same interview day.
Each interview was limited to 10 minutes.
All interviews were conducted live-to-tape. That means they were recorded continuously without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.
Each candidate was asked the same questions. No candidate received the questions in advance.
The interviews air in alphabetical order.
Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to provide voters with a fair, transparent and consistent platform so they can hear directly from the candidates and make an informed decision at the ballot box.
All candidates were reached and given the same opportunity. All but one candidate participated.