Marshall Lewis (Pleasant Hill City Council District 1, California, candidate 2024)

Marshall Lewis

Nonpartisan

Candidate, Pleasant Hill City Council District 1

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

High school

College Park High School

Personal

Birthplace

Price, Utah

Profession

Finance

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Marshall Lewis ran for election to the Pleasant Hill City Council District 1 in California. He was on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024.^[source]

Lewis completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Marshall Lewis provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on October 24, 2024:

• Birth date: August 23, 1986
• Birth place: Price, Utah
• High school: College Park High School
• Bachelor's: UC Berkeley, 2004
• Gender: Male
• Profession: Finance
• Incumbent officeholder: No
• Campaign website
• Campaign endorsements
• Campaign Facebook

Elections

General election

General election for Pleasant Hill City Council District 1

Belle La and Marshall Lewis ran in the general election for Pleasant Hill City Council District 1 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Belle La (Nonpartisan)
		Marshall Lewis (Nonpartisan)

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	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Endorsements

To view Lewis's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Lewis in this election.

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Marshall Lewis completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Lewis' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I grew up in Pleasant Hill, and graduated from College Park High School, Diablo Valley College, and UC Berkeley. I then joined the Peace Corps and spent two years teaching English near Mount Kilimanjaro. After completing my service, I worked to protect the Amazon rainforest from oil exploration. I then joined a small local business that finances industrial equipment for small manufacturing companies, and have worked there ever since, eventually rising to the position of Funding Director. Unfortunately, even as my career advanced and my income grew, the cost of housing continued to go up. I couldn’t afford to stay in Pleasant Hill, and every time I got a raise, rents went up by the same amount, keeping my hometown just out of reach. My wife and I were eventually able to buy a home near DVC, but it took years, and most members of our generation weren’t so lucky. I’m running so that, when my son grows up, housing in Pleasant Hill will be abundant and affordable enough that he won’t be economically displaced the way I was.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• HOUSING: We need to make it easier to build additional housing units, while still making sure that we retain our small-town feel. We can do this by streamlining the approval process for ADUs, duplexes, and triplexes, which integrate into our existing neighborhoods better than large apartment complexes. Improving our land use policies will also make us better positioned to reduce our community’s greenhouse gas emissions.
• BUDGET: The city has two major funds: the general fund, which is used for most purposes, and the Measure K fund, which receives revenue from the city's Measure K sales tax and spends it on infrastructure and the library. The general fund is in a lot of trouble because of steep pension costs, and is currently projected to run out of money in 2029. The Measure K fund, on the other hand, is expected to have several million dollars of excess revenue that will come available in 2032. (That money is currently being used for debt service for the library, which will be paid off in 2032.) Our challenge is to extend general fund solvency through at least 2032, because then we 'll be able to use Measure K revenue to support the general fund.
• PUBLIC SAFETY: I favor a holistic approach to public safety that integrates strategies to save lives, improve our quality of life and rebuild livelihoods.

  In addition to maintaining adequate police staffing, training and resources to prevent crime, we must ensure our streets are safe for both drivers and pedestrians.

  We should expand sidewalks and bike lanes, focus on Safe Routes to School for our children, and reduce congestion around schools and parks. With a safer transportation network — with natural traffic calming features — we can make our community more walkable, bikeable and enjoyable for all.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Housing! I was personally displaced from Pleasant Hill when I was a young adult due to the high rent, and I spent years living in substandard housing, including next to an abandoned building and in a converted storage room. My home now is lovely, but I want to be sure that future generations have an easier time of it than I did.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Integrity, compassion, and amiability. We have to stay true to who we are, remember those who are less fortunate, and avoid driving everyone around us crazy. (A lot of elected officials forget about that last one!)

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I served in the Peace Corps for two years after college, and it was an extraordinary experience. At first it was terrifying, being dropped off on a remote mountaintop in sub-Saharan Africa with minimal command of the language and not much in the way of life skills. As time went by, I learned more and more, not just about the country I was in and how to survive there, but about myself and my capacity for growth. I learned to stop fearing the unknown, and to start ignoring the little voice that told me I couldn't do things. It made me who I am today.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

Absolutely, yes. Housing policy is extremely complicated, and you need a good grasp of local ordinances, state laws, and the underlying economics in order to know what you're doing. Municipal finance is also very complex, and requires specialized training because the financial statements are prepared according to GASB standards rather than FASB standards.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

The Democratic Party, labor unions, County Supervisor Ken Carlson, Pleasant Hill Mayor Matt Rinn, and many local elected officials and community leaders.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Candidate

Pleasant Hill City Council District 1

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