She’s out… and speaking up.
“I must do more to act on climate,” Heidi says a few times during the Scoop’s exclusive 51 minute farewell interview after her announced departure last Thursday. As the new Senior Public Affairs Director at the Romero Institute, our red-rosed Mayor since 2016 will be poised to make a very big impact indeed. If Sactown politicos stop taking fossil fuel money, pass meaningful climate legislation & CA declares a state o’ emergency on climate, Harmon may deserve some of the credit. Those are “the immediate policy objectives of the program I will lead, called Let’s Green CA”. Here’s rootin’ for that.
As for SLO? We’ll make do. Council will prolly appoint one of themselves to serve out Harmon’s term and we’ll elect someone new in 2022. Heidi will still live here & work remotely but it’ll be up to us to fulfill the promise of the City’s 2035 climate goal, her “proudest moment as Mayor.” Housing will be built, but it may not be so affordable. “My biggest disappointment was not meeting the needs of the missing middle or finding public land trusts for the unhoused” but her work on tiny homes, bike lanes and diversity are here to stay. High five!
We’ll miss having such a strong mayoral advocate for SLO’s U40s. Harmon hopes her story can be proof that a lowly activist can rise up and make a difference, even without a trust fund… and that we will all “pause life for a moment and consider where we can show up to do our part.” It worked for her.
