Candidate Interview: Dan Goldstein

In Which: I summarize a candidate interview with Dan Goldstein in an attempt to learn his vision for the City of Hayward.

This is the third interview with candidates for City Council—but I’ve still got one more coming up. That’ll have to wait until next week, though. In the meantime, if you’re running for City Council, I’d love to chat with you! Hit me up at haywardherald[at]protonmail.com

Meeting Dan Goldstein

I met with Dan Goldstein on June 5th at the Mission Hills Clubhouse. Attached to the Mission Hills Golf Course, this spot is owned and operated by HARD and is in the South Hayward area, in his neighborhood. It was a Wednesday during the day at a golf clubhouse, so the customers were exclusively old and white.

Goldstein was a patient and generous interviewee—he paused frequently to give me time to write my notes. He seemed comfortable, but professional, and attentive—as the Council liaison to the Community Services Commission, he and I have talked multiple times. He arrived by car, though he sometimes travels by motorcycle.

Who Is Dan Goldstein?

Dan Goldstein has been a fixture in the City Government scene for a while—he was appointed to the Planning Commission in 2015 and served on it for 7 years. He unsuccessfully ran for HUSD School Board in 2016, he’s in the Rotary Club and serves on the board of the Hayward Education Foundation.

On the dais, Goldstein can be pretty moderate. He hasn’t put forward big progressive ideas, but he has supported them. He’s demonstrated that he will change his mind on things—like his stance on Israel—and put give voice to ideas from the community.

But I wanted to find what his vision for Hayward is—what it could become with the right leadership—and, as you’ll see, it was not as easy as I had hoped.

Safety Means Police

Dan Goldstein is unabashedly tied to the police apparatus. He mentioned the police in almost every topic we discussed and one of the only aspirations he mentioned involved “partnerships with police agencies” for “gangs and troublemakers.” He worked with the University Police at Cal in his younger days, and has been one of their biggest boosters on Council.

Much like Zermeño, Goldstein was also relieved about reduced police scrutiny. “Fallout from the 2020 George Floyd riots and the additional scrutiny on the profession [has] seemingly abated,” he said. He celebrated recent hiring efforts and “[wants] to have a new police services building… a larger police safety complex.”

While he celebrated the work of the HEART program, he focused on how “officers throughout the City are trained [to] deal with it differently.” For those who don’t know, there are three arms of the HEART program, and only one of them directly involves police—the rest involve the Fire Department and mental health clinicians. However, the police arm seems to be responsible for the widest range of calls.

Goldstein specifically highlighted crime and police when it came to neighborhood safety—an outlier from the candidates so far. “[I want to] get people to understand the right way to engage the police,” he said, “[so] police can take a more proactive approach on patrols.” His understanding of safety seemed rooted in police involvement.

Even when it comes to traffic, Goldstein mentioned the police. While other ideas came up first, he talked about license plate cameras. “[They] help a number of ways relating to crime,” he said, “[they] ID who flagrant violators are and perhaps link them to other violent activity.” He called them a “good proactive enforcement tool [that] allow officers to intercept while still travelling.”

While there is some anecdotal evidence HPD relies on to support this, no real evidence has been shown that the increased surveillance has prevented crimes.

Acting On Homelessness

Despite his close alignment with police, one are where Dan Goldstein did not mention them specifically was on the subject of homelessness. He seemed glad to have a “non-police response to mental health crises” and was excited for the new St. Regis project. He volunteers his time with City Team Ministries and said it was a model for the Hayward Navigation Center.

Goldstein discussed the 170+ beds that will be available at St. Regis and the “mental health care lockup facility” since it will allow people to transition of out of St. Rose. “That is the next step,” he said. The St. Regis facility has “[the] ability to have a huge impact on the homeless community,” he said, “[It’s] not like other centers who shove them in a dark corner and hope for the best.”

Goldstein also tied homelessness to public safety and the peace of mind of downtown business owners. “[They have a] fear of the homeless population Downtown,” he said, though he doesn’t seem to share that fear himself. He has supported safe parking sites, though it was in response to complaints from the community.

Making Roads Complete And Less Frustrating

An area that showcases Dan Goldstein’s time on the Planning Commission is roads and traffic. He specifically mentioned “complete communities,” complete streets, and public transit. “The goal there,” he said, “is to provide services so you don’t have to get in your car.”

On public transit, Goldstein talked about discussions with BART, CalTrans, and AC Transit to “look at ways we can improve the quality of services,” he said, specifically around routes for busses.

Goldstein also mentioned complete streets, with “curb separation of bike lanes on Mission,” though that has only happened south of Industrial Blvd so far. The City is working on “innovative ideas,” he said, “[that] makes it more bicycle-friendly and safe.”

Finally, Goldstein discussed traffic calming efforts. “The goal,” he said, “is not to slow down the traffic, but to have a calming effect.” He said that the automated traffic signal projects on Jackson Street and D Street operate in a similar vein. “[Missing lights is] frustrating for drivers,” he said, “[and that] translates into speeding to beat the light.” No mention was made of how induced demand would impact the increased traffic mobility, however.

What Does It All Mean?

It’s difficult to say what Dan Goldstein’s vision for Hayward is because he already thinks it’s perfect. “Hayward fits my vision as the ideal place to live,” he said. And when I asked if there was something he was worried about, he said “I wish I could pick something.”

Goldstein doesn’t have a strong vision for change because he doesn’t think we need it. As the only white man on Council, the system mostly works in his favor. He thinks Hayward is ideal as it is, and the only motive for him to be up there is to stay the course.

And maybe that’s the role Goldstein has chosen to fill on City Council: The Support. He doesn’t bring big ideas to the table, but he listens to residents and Staff and amplifies their voices. He’s not visibly passionate, but governs evenly—with a soft spot for the police.

Goldstein did not mention anything he wants to do with his power—he spent 40 minutes telling me about what the City is already doing. And despite a future where he’ll have to compete with two other councilmembers for a seat, his only concern is for competent candidates. He wants good governance and isn’t worried about political ideology.

In election season, we can’t know if that’s enough to convince voters to give him a second term on Council.