Our Vision for Davis

Moving Forward

Dillan aims to build a future where every member of our community can thrive with bold and inclusive leadership. Davis has a long and proud history of inclusion and innovation, but it is too expensive and difficult for working-class people to get ahead and stay ahead, which holds Davis back from reaching its full potential. Dillan will partner with the community to implement smart and principled solutions to our most urgent problems.

Expanding the Supply of Quality-Affordable Housing for Our Whole Community

More than 40% of Davis renters spend a majority of their income on rent. The truth is, we’ve built more housing in this town, but it’s still not enough to catch up to decades of neglect or to serve all those who need housing. There’s no question that the statewide housing crisis is hitting our community hard. When there aren’t enough homes for working-class Davisites, landlords and developers can increase rents without penalty because they know they’ll always have someone who needs that space. Our community as a whole will benefit when the people who work, study, and start families in our city are able to find a home in Davis.

We can move forward by:

More affordable housing: Prioritizing the building of more affordable housing including a variety of housing types, such as: workforce housing, medium density, (A)ffordable, and market-rate housing, so students, families, seniors, and the working class can all afford to call Davis their home.
Strengthen Resources for Renters: Strengthening the Davis city renters’ ordinance, plus fully funding and staffing the Renters Resources Program, to make sure that our most vulnerable residents get a fair deal and aren’t forced to leave their homes or live in substandard conditions.
Housing trust fund: Expanding the city’s affordable housing trust fund which ensures that developers pay their fair share towards funding affordable housing projects.
First Time Homebuyers program: Returning full funding to the First Time Homebuyers program to address the disparity of homeownership for working class Davisites, people of color and particularly black residents, to help transition them from renting to owning their first home and building generational wealth.
Participatory process: Proactively including the voices of those hardest hit by the housing crisis in the participatory process, including students, families, and seniors.
Infill: Encouraging smart development within the City of Davis (not on agricultural land), particularly on city-owned land where there are fewer roadblocks to developing affordable housing, and in areas where transit and amenities are abundant.

Boosting Equitable Economic Development to Improve All Our Futures

As a community we have the resources and expertise to develop economic opportunity, maintain our infrastructure, and put our city on a solid financial foundation. However, the city is currently facing a poor fiscal outlook. Community members are struggling to start new businesses, meaning Davis loses out on tax revenue to neighboring cities. The best way to promote our city’s economic development is by creating good jobs that increase our tax base and provide opportunities for workers and entrepreneurs. The best economic development plan is to help Davis retain the businesses and jobs we have while welcoming new ones that fit our values and community needs. It will also enable us to fully fund our city services and other needs, including education, housing, infrastructure, and public safety.

We can move forward by:

Living wage jobs: Prioritizing economic development of living-wage jobs that enable workers to afford to live and care for their families in Davis
Supporting unions: Ensuring that workers in Davis have the right to organize in a union, negotiate a fair contract, and work in safe conditions.
Simplification: Removing barriers to starting and operating a business in Davis.
Business liaison: Bringing back a business liaison position to ensure that entrepreneurs throughout our city have tools to succeed.
Mixed use: Expediting the building of mixed use (commercial and residential) developments.
Equity Chamber of Commerce: Establishing an organization for promoting the needs of business owned by underrepresented groups that can assist them in finding business development opportunities and reducing discrimination.
Infrastructure improvement & expansion: Investing in critical infrastructure that will improve quality of life as well as create new economic opportunities, including:
- Repairing damaged roads and addressing deferred maintenance needs.
- Improving pedestrian and cycle infrastructure to enable access to local businesses without the need to drive.
- Passing an ordinance to require making improvements to pedestrian, cycle, and transit infrastructure when a road is scheduled for maintenance.
- Pursuing community-owned utilities and high-speed internet.
- Improving public transportation and reducing car reliance by collaborating with Unitrans and Yolobus to improve service, add bus shelters, and remove barriers to ADA accessibility.

Making our Community More Inclusive and Accessible

Davis is a community of strong moral conviction. From our role as leaders in the environmental movement to our efforts to ensure safety for immigrant community members, we are not afraid to put our ideals into action, but can do even more to put our values first and make sure Davis is a safe and welcoming place for everyone.

We can move forward by:

Transformative services: Providing more resources for transformative services, such as the Homeless Outreach Coordinator position.
Police reform: Finishing the job of reforming Davis’ public safety systems, so that everyone feels safe and secure in our community, not just the wealthy and well-connected.
Accessibility for people with disabilities: Making sure that Davis is fully accessible by partnering with city staff and local businesses to create spaces that are inclusive of workers and customers with disabilities.
LGBTQ rights: Standing up for the LGBTQ Community, particularly for our young people, by featuring and centering diverse voices in city policy discussions.
Climate Action Plan: Pursuing swift adaptation of the Davis Climate Action Plan including consideration of climate needs in all city decisions.
Ending bigotry and discrimination: Reaffirming the city’s commitment to end all forms of unjust discrimination, including racism, sexism, bigotry towards members of religious denominations, ableism, homophobia/transphobia, xenophobia, and others.
Supporting spiritual communities: Supporting a community that is inclusive of all faith backgrounds (including supporting those with no spiritual practice), in particular, standing against antisemitism and Islamophobia.

Issue Specific Policy Agendas

Dillan’s policy commitment extends to a range of issues through targeted agendas and solutions.

On the right, you can explore documents which contain detailed examples of these issue-specific policies. Come back from time to time as more may be added later!