Q&A With Mark Salinas, Mayor of the City of Hayward
October 21, 2024
For approximately three decades, Mayor Mark Salinas has dedicated himself to serving the City of Hayward. Beginning as a student at Chabot College, he organized his classmates to tutor middle school students and mobilized community members to serve breakfast to Hayward children during the holidays. Today, as Mayor of Hayward, he continues his long-standing commitment to addressing the needs of Hayward’s children and families. Over the years, Mayor Salinas has focused on a wide range of issues, including health, education and one of the most pressing challenges facing families today—housing.
Mayor Salinas understands the challenges faced by Hayward families. In addition to his role as a California Community College Ethnic Studies Professor, he serves on three local boards dedicated to supporting children, students, and families. He is the Inaugural Chair of the Friends of Chabot College Foundation, a Board Member of the St. Rose Hospital Foundation, and the Executive Director of The Kids’ Breakfast Club in Hayward.
We spoke with Mayor Salinas about changes he’s seen in Hayward over the years, and we talked about what he’s doing to address housing affordability in Hayward so families can afford to live and thrive in Hayward.
You’ve served the City of Hayward since 2010 as a City Council Member and since 2022 as Mayor. Walk us through how you’ve seen the city’s approach to affordable housing evolve.
When I was elected, the conversation around affordable housing was essentially around senior housing. We had approved some developments for seniors and we were making more housing opportunities for them. At the time, we weren’t talking about affordable housing for families, and we certainly were not talking about it with kind of velocity we are talking about it today. About five or six years later, we began noticing East Bay Council members discussing the issue more frequently and expressing an increased urgency regarding the struggles families face in staying in place or purchasing homes in East Bay cities, including Hayward.
Around 2016, the conversation around affordable housing gained significant momentum. Bay Area advocates began viewing housing as a regional issue and started applying pressure on local governments to prioritize affordable housing for both families and seniors. This shift in focus prompted the City Council to closely evaluate how we were addressing the growing need for affordable housing options, particularly for families in Hayward.
Today, we all recognize the importance of affordable housing, and we know that we simply haven’t built commensurately with our population growth. Hayward is a city of young families, where many households have two income earners, even with professional salaries, yet they still struggle to save enough for a down payment on a home. They are completely priced out of the market or there’s just not enough inventory to choose from.
Hayward is a true education city—one of only two cities in Alameda County, alongside Berkeley, that offers a complete public education system from K-12 through community college and university. With institutions like Cal State East Bay and Chabot College, historically known as commuter schools, Hayward has great potential to become even more attractive to early-career professionals. By increasing affordable housing options across income levels, we can make Hayward a prime destination for recent graduates and those with specialized trade certifications. My goal is to ensure that when students complete their education in Hayward, our city is their top choice to start their careers, grow their families, and invest in our community.
The City of Hayward has a strong track record of supporting affordable housing projects. Why is this important to the City and what are some of the achievements you are particularly proud of?
Over the last four or five years, I think we have really excelled in the affordable housing space. We’ve built and approved housing for every income level—market rate, medium income, moderate income and low income.
The Council believes in producing more housing; protecting tenants; as well as preserving the housing stock we have. For example, if you drive down Mission Boulevard, you’ll notice the wide range of new housing developments, designed to accommodate everyone from seniors to young families.
And the mood has really changed around housing. We went from neighborhoods lamenting over building more housing to supporting building. I’m proud that we’ve met and exceeded all of our own expectations and the expectations in the community.
Moving forward, what are your goals and plans for addressing the housing crisis in your city?
We certainly want to continue to build, focusing on “building smart,” by being very deliberate and intentional. For example, right now I’m in conversation with the president of Cal State East Bay, the president of Chabot College and the superintendent of the school district about workforce housing projects where we can build mixed-use developments that will include commercial businesses but also housing for students, faculty and administrators, along with housing for families attending the colleges.
How can residents, local organizations and/or the state help the City meet its housing needs?
I believe we need to collaborate more effectively in order to better leverage interdisciplinary funding opportunities. But we have to be committed. For example, I was heartbroken when the $20 billion Bay Area housing bond was removed from the November ballot. That was much needed for affordable housing; and, as we know, it can be more expensive to build affordable than it is to build market rate. That always surprises people because they assume affordable housing means cheaper products, but there are more agencies and organizations involved, and the cost to build is the same.
We also need to educate neighbors who are concerned about property values when affordable housing projects are developed. For instance, Eden Housing constructs high-quality communities that not only enhance neighborhoods but also provide comprehensive support services. Together, we can commit to championing these successes and fostering positive change.