Yeo.

The nomination period to run for local office began last week, and at least one community member has announced his candidacy for Arcata City Council. Longtime Arcata resident Collin Yeo confirmed with the Outpost that he has filed the initial paperwork and is currently gathering the necessary nomination signatures.

Yeo is running for one of three open seats on the Arcata council — Mayor Michael Winkler and Vice Mayor Paul Pitino are both nearing the end of their terms, and the other seat was vacated by previous council member Susan Ornelas, who resigned from the position earlier this year. This is Yeo’s first venture into the world of public service and he says that although he does not have much experience, he is ready to work hard to improve the town where he grew up.

“My experience is as a lifelong member of the working class,” Yeo told the Outpost in a phone interview earlier this week. “I feel like I am up to the task in the sense that I love this community and I can’t imagine doing anything less than contributing all of my time and energy toward making this a better place for everyone.”

Prior to COVID-19, Yeo worked multiple gigs in the area, including as a freelance writer and is probably best known for his music column “The Setlist” in North Coast Journal. But, like many others in the time of COVID, Yeo is currently “underemployed at best,” he said.

The pandemic has also made gathering nomination signatures more difficult — Yeo is reaching out to community members and asking them to sign by appointment — and he is still figuring out exactly what campaigning will look like in the current world.

Yeo is also still working on his platform, but told the Outpost that addressing homelessness and poverty is important to him, and that he would like to see programs such as rent control in place to protect low-income residents in the area.

Speaking on the high-profile topic of police reform, Yeo said he would like to see less of the city’s budget spent on policing and more resources put into finding alternative ways to help people with drug addiction or mental health issues.

“The best thing we can do is change the policing model and take some of the money from the police department and use it to fund programs that are more appropriate to deal with the problems we have,” Yeo said.

You can expect an official campaign launch announcement from Yeo soon, he said. In the meantime, he encourages folks in Arcata to reach out to him if they have any questions or concerns about their community that they would like to see addressed. Working together is crucial, Yeo said, especially as we navigate the hardships of the pandemic.

“The only thing we have going for us is a strong community,” Yeo told the Outpost. “That is the best we have. If we don’t start recognizing that, things could get really terrible soon.”

Yeo can be reached at collinedgaryeo@gmail.com.