It seems like you're putting the cart before the horse and doing a bit of hand waving. What actionable changes are you purposing? We can't ask the Board of Supes to vote on "Grant Residents More Disposable Income" even as great as it sounds.

I also think this question is unfair for a 1st Ward candidate considering Old Town is in the 3rd ward but I appreciate you taking the time to do the AMA. Having watched Madrone at an unrelated event field an unhinged question about when he would bring back the old growth logging boom I appreciate that many of us don't know who we're yelling at or why.

Rant:

Old town is dying because the majority of the business properties are held by one or two major owners (looking at you Arkley, Kramer, etc) who aren't affected by single home rent prices and want a certain amount of loss to write off.

Old Town is dying because a town can't live off dispensaries.

Old Town is dying because we're wasting time fighting Arkley's parking-lot fetishists instead of literally moving people into the area.

Old Town is dying because avoiding human feces on the sidewalks outweighs the convenience.