Greg Conlon, who recently moved to Menlo Park after living in Atherton for approximately 50 years, is running for the District 5 seat on Menlo Park’s City Council. 

Conlon is a CPA and former member of Atherton’s rail committee, and finance and audit committee. He also ran to be California’s state insurance commissioner in June of 2022. In 1993, Conlon was appointed to the California Public Utilities Commission for six years, and served as president of the commission for two years. 

He faces Jennifer Wise, a trust and estate attorney and commissioner on Menlo Park’s library commission, in the race for District 5. 

Policy priorities

Conlon says that if elected, his priorities would be establishing a Caltrain quiet zone in Menlo Park, improving the safety of the Caltrain crossings and helping with the process of implementing the city’s housing element.

Conlon moved to Sharon Heights two weeks before he filed his papers to run for City Council on Aug. 14, the last day that candidates were able to do so. 

One of Conlon’s main goals, if elected to the City Council, is to improve Caltrain throughout Menlo Park by implementing a quiet zone, and by improving the safety of the trains throughout the city by means of grade separation.

“I’m running because I was so involved in rail (in Atherton), I just thought it was a good opportunity for me to help Menlo Park with their four intersections and getting them (a quiet zone).”

Conlon has dealt with rail and transportation in several roles throughout his life. As a member of Atherton’s rail committee, Conlon helped the town establish a quiet zone at the Watkins Avenue and Fair Oaks Lane railroad crossings. He also served on California’s Transportation Commission, and dealt with railroads during his tenure on the CPUC. 

Conlon said in an interview with this news organization that he believes that Caltrain “is the most dangerous railroad in the United States.” He also hopes to help Menlo Park improve its record on rail safety.

“A lot of (Caltrain deaths) are suicide, but a lot of it is just accidents that could be avoided, and the best way to avoid them is to build trenches all the way down the system,” he said. “If I win, the first thing I’ll do is go to Washington, D.C. and convince the Department of Transportation that Caltrain is the most dangerous railroad in the United States. … I would try and get money from them (to trench the whole system), hopefully $2 or $3 billion dollars.”

He hopes that in his capacity as a City Council member, he could help raise enough money to at least dig trenches for the train through Menlo Park’s four rail crossings. 

Railroad trenches are a form of grade separation that can improve rail safety by separating the roadway from the railroad tracks and putting them at different heights. Menlo Park has been working with Caltrain for several years on a grade separation and quiet zone project for the city of Menlo Park. The city is currently working with the San Mateo County Transportation Authority on funding for the design and environmental analysis phase of the project, according to Menlo Park’s website. 

In addition to improving safety, implementing a quiet zone would do as the name implies, and quiet the trains’ horns as they move through Menlo Park.

In addition to his rail priorities, Conlon says he wants to help the city achieve its housing goals. 

Conlon says his experience as a board member for a San Francisco nonprofit called Pineview Housing, and its parent company, Self-Help for the Elderly, will help him address the implementation of Menlo Park’s housing element. During his tenure on the nonprofit’s board, he helped oversee the building of an 85-unit senior housing facility. 

“I learned a lot about building housing there,” he said. “And I can use it if we ever do anything downtown. … I believe I could contribute on where to put it, what to put there and how to get it financed.”

Conlon said that anyone who has questions for him can reach him at his cellphone, 650-315-4956, or by email, [email protected].