Lamar Heystek
| Lamar Heystek | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Davis City Council | |
|
In office 2006–2010 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 17, 1979 |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Davis, California |
| Alma mater | University of California, Davis |
| Website | http://cityofdavis.org |
Lamar Heystek (born February 17, 1979), American politician, was a member of the Davis, California City Council from 2006 to 2010.
He was born in San Leandro, California, was educated at University of California, Davis and served as the coordinator of Youth Programs at the Yolo Family Resource Center.[1]
Personal Life and Education
Lamar grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended San Leandro High School. He is a graduate of UC Davis, where he earned his B.A. Degree and M.A. Degree in Political Science and Linguistics. He taught as a lecturer of Linguistics at UC Davis and served the city of Davis on several municipal boards, including the City of Davis Recreation & Park Commission, Open Space Commission, and Finance & Budget Commission.
Lamar is the son of René and Yeap Nee Heystek. His father, René, was interned in a concentration camp with his family during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies in World War II. In 1959, René Heystek settled in San Leandro, California, where President John F. Kennedy’s call to service inspired him to join the Peace Corps. On his mission to Malaysia, René Heystek met Yeap Nee Cheam, and they married in 1976. After returning from Malaysia, René began a career as a teacher in the Oakland Unified School District in 1977 and retired in 1999. This tradition of service inspired all three of his children to follow in his footsteps: Lamar Heystek’s siblings are United States Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Loretta Heystek and two-term San Leandro School Board Member Louis Heystek, his twin brother.
In 1997, Heystek became an active union member with the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 588. He worked for Safeway until 2006, when he resigned to run for city council.
Political career
City Council
On June 6, 2006, Lamar Heystek was elected to the Davis City Council, a major victory for the student vote, as he presented himself as a councilmember that would pay attention to the needs of the students, who are a significant portion of the Davis voting population.
As a member of the city council, Heystek was a proponent of smart growth and sustainable development, and defended renters' rights, having voted to prohibit landlords from forcing renters to remove political signs from their windows.[2]
The modified Davis City Code reads as follows:
(8) Not withstanding any lease to the contrary, no landlord or lessor shall prohibit a tenant lawfully in possession from posting political signs. Political signs may be posted or displayed in the window, on the balcony, or on the door of the premises leased by the tenant in a multifamily dwelling, or from the yard, window, door, balcony, or outside wall of the premises leased by a tenant of a single-family dwelling.[3]
Heystek believed that open space in Davis should be preserved for green technology startup companies,[4] and supported more lower and middle-class home ownership opportunities in Davis. Heystek also advocated for limits on home appreciation amounts as an alternative to sprawl.[5]
One of Heystek's biggest fights on the city council involved his support for a living wage ordinance. During his successful city council race in 2006, he framed the issue of living wages as one of social justice. In 2006, he introduced an ordinance that would require billion-dollar retail employers to provide their employees with living wages.[6]
Heystek's plan called for a living wage of $14.21 per hour without health coverage, or $12.71 per hour with health coverage.[7]
“Companies that have huge yearly profits can well afford to treat their employees fairly and pay them a living wage,”[6]
"This should be more than symbolic, this should actually help people."[7]
"This would enable our most vulnerable population to afford our most affordable housing."[7]
“Employees of big-box retailers often depend on public health care, subsidized housing and other taxpayer-funded services. That’s an indirect subsidy of large corporations. When all companies pay a living wage, it levels the playing field for companies that behave responsibly.”[6]
-Heystek on the living wage ordinance
Heystek offered the following opinion on California's Proposition 83, which requires lifetime GPS monitoring for felony registered Sex Offenders, and increases penalties for violent sex offenders and child molesters:[8]
"I am not sure whether all these individuals would be subject to GPS tracking provision of Proposition 83, but allowing local law enforcement officials to know whether high-risk offenders are deliberately approaching schools, parks and other sensitive areas in Davis makes sense. My concern is that the emphasis should be on prevention not just through legal consequences, but also through clinical intervention."[9]
References
- ↑ City of Davis Bio
- ↑ Davis City Council Meeting Minutes 1/8/08: http://cityofdavis.org/meetings/council/01-08-07.pdf
- ↑ Davis Municipal Election Code 12.01.120: http://www.cityofdavis.org/cmo/citycode/detail.cfm?p=12&q=2604
- ↑ California Aggie, 12/4/08: http://www.theaggie.org/article/2174
- ↑ California Aggie, 5/20/08: http://www.theaggie.org/article/812
- 1 2 3 Voices of Action: From Clerk to City Council: http://spring2007.voice-of-action.org/lamarheystek.htm
- 1 2 3 California Aggie, 9/29/08: http://theaggie.org/article/1374
- ↑ Sex Offenders. Sexually Violent Predators. Punishment, Residence Restrictions and Monitoring Initiative Statute: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/vig_06/general_06/pdf/proposition_83/entire_prop83.pdf
- ↑ California Aggie, 4/22/08: http://theaggie.org/article/441
External links