Folsom mayor works to connect with the community one resident at a time

Since stepping into her role as mayor of Folsom, Rosario Rodriguez has used her weekly office hours to help the community one resident at a time. Last week, Rodriguez experienced the fruits of her work while meeting with a community member at a bus stop. In early February, local resident Charles Bellairs visited the mayor's office hours concerned because Sacramento Regional Transit District (RT) removed a bus stop in front of the Sutter Health building on East Bidwell. That left him walking half a mile to get to the doctor's office, which would prove difficult in extreme heat or rain. Rodriguez said she escalated his concern to City Manager Elaine Andersen, who then contacted Henry Li, RT general manager and CEO. Two days later, RT replaced the bus stop at 2575 East Bidwell. Bellairs contacted Rodriguez last week to tell her he was using the bus stop, so she met up with him at the stop. "We hear so much about what goes wrong with government and rarely hear about the things that work out well," Rodriguez said. Connecting residents with the right officials and listening to residents speak about their concerns has been ongoing work for Rodriguez twice a week since January. "I feel more effective," she said. "I always want to be available for people and this is how we get things done. Sometimes, the only way to connect with people is to have open office hours." She said she hears about a variety of things during her office hours, including local infrastructure that needs addressing, neighbor-to-neighbor disputes, venting about something related to the city, homelessness, traffic issues and more. "People can come and talk about anything city related," she said. "When people come in here and they are frustrated, I have the ability to connect them with people in the city." Rodriguez said she enjoys the opportunity to connect with people in the community and said she recently met with a native Folsom resident whose father and grandfather were from Folsom as well. "Charlene shared so much history about what this city looked like," she said. "I love hearing stories from people who have been here a long time. They have so much history." Rodriguez, who runs her own business in town, volunteers 10-15 hours a week meeting with the community one on one. She said she still wishes she had more time to devote to the city of Folsom. Anyone is invited to meet with Rodriguez during her office hours from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at Folsom City Hall in the Mayor's Office (second floor) at 50 Natoma Street. Residents are invited to drop in or set up an appointment to speak on any topic. For more information, email Rodriguez at rrodriguez@folsom.ca.us.